mass effect squadmate interactions i desperately needed to see more of (whole trilogy edition):
tali and miranda. top of the list considering tali's drunken ramble if miranda dies. insane potential there re their loneliness and fucked up relationships to their dads and environments leading to completely opposite worldviews. i think we also needed to see more of miranda being actually 100% cerberus in how she interacts with the alien characters; i get that people don't want more hate on her bc she's written as mean ice queen but i think she would be a much more fascinating character if we actually had to contend with her proeminent role in the evil human supremacist org. and tali needs more of that narrative foil good shit
jack and miranda. to be fair they get more interactions than like 90% of me2 squadmates but we needed a whole lot fucking more both for gay reasons and for "we are written as obvious narrative parallels who have been manipulated and abused our entire lives in very different ways but you ended up at the top of the totem pole and i at the bottom of it". we also desperately needed more closure on their dynamic in me3 but that would require miranda getting a proper arc that makes sense
tali and legion DITTO in me2 i think especially post-confrontation. i think it would have added that much more weight and agony to legion deciding to sacrifice itself and its last interaction being with tali overall.
kasumi and tali. i think their dynamic would have been really REALLY funny and kinda cute they seem like they would be good friends. kinda gay about it too
me1 wrex and tali GOD i loved their talk in the citadel dlc so so much and it made me desperately wish for them interacting a hell of a lot more in the first game, wrex helping tali out of her shell and being inordinately fond of her in me1 would have been lovely and tali likewise bonding with wrex over how quarians and krogans get treated would be so so delicious. also shotgun buddies.
me1 garrus and ashley because not nearly enough people confront the fact that garrus is that much more obnoxiously racist than ash in me1 (just not to humans generally) and also because i think it would have added a lot to ash's character to see her have to actively work with this awkward nerd of a turian beanpole and confront her past stuff (i think she would have no problem with his police brutality though). likewise we desperately needed some me3 garrus and ash interactions especially after garrus almost SHOOTS HER. overall the virmire survivors' writing in me3 is.... not the best, kaidan gets somewhat more than ash bc you can start a gay romance there that makes some sense of his character but all interesting and realistic aspects of ash's character got sanded down to nearly nothing. and i think interactions with garrus and maybe tali (but mostly garrus bc yknow her whole thing with the first contact war) could have added so much.
thane and samara. HELLO IM SORRY WHAT THE FUCK WHY THE FUCK DO THEY BARELY EVER INTERACT THAT IS BATSHIT INSANE. HELLO. THE JUSTICAR CODE AND THANE'S ENTIRE ASSASSIN THING. HELLO?? HELLO??????
samara and literally anyone on the sr2 frankly but also it is funny to imagine that she barely speaks to anyone because she knows that otherwise the Code will have to be invoked. but please more of samara with jack re biotics and jack being yknow. jack. samara and zaeed no wait i realized he'll be horribly misogynistic about her and she might just shoot him. samara and grunt could be interesting with her thoughts on children and sins of the parents. samara and kasumi's hilarious game of cat and mouse.
thane and grunt. i think thane would have been such a good attempted parental figure to grunt.
jack and jacob mostly bc of that single interaction on the citadel of "jack, no." i think jacob's writing has so many kinds of issues but he could have been a much more fleshed likeable and 'normal' human guy character had he played the straight man that much more often to me2's hysterical cast of misfits and rascals. jack and jacob have the most comedy potential in this case tbh as well as jacob getting some uncomfortable insight into what cerberus actually is. and i think jack desperately needs someone to bully a little in a fond way it's for enrichment purposes
me2 garrus and tali. i mean we've seen their dynamic on the sr-1 and it's not great but part of why i've never fully bought their me3 friendship as lovely as it is is that it feels like there was practically no transition between garrus being horrendous to her in me1 and them suddenly being chill buds (if not outright lovers, perish the thought, tali is a lesbiaaaaaan) in me3 with him apologizing to her. like i do think there should have been something more, with the two of them having lost their entire teams and having to reconsider who they are and what their values are as people between me1/me2, as well as being the only dextro aliens on board in all three games which creates all kinds of complications. tali getting comforted after her recruitment while also being semi-wary of garrus at first (the elevator dialogue in the citadel in me2 is written as funny but i found it mostly sad bc it's garrus being like remember when i was super racist to you. fun times haha. anyway you're cute) and him having to yknow. confront what kind of a dick he's been. lol. and her having another character she can bounce off on feeling disconnected from her kin and her feared failures. please
javik and legion interacting a hell of a lot more overall would be one of the funniest duos possible. mass effect is at its best when it's a sitcom and a melodrama.
same with javik and wrex. the little we get of them on sur'kesh had me hollering.
I CANNOT BELIEVE WE DID NOT GET MORE OF TALI AND LIARA INTERACTING no i can bc of so many issues in how liara is written but listen. i think lair of the shadow broker desperately needed squadmate interaction instead of them all being eerily silent the entire dlc. and i think the stuff between tali and liara during that dlc could genuinely have been so good.
there's this weird fandom thing where a lot of people romance kaidan in me1 and garrus in me2-3 and pit them in this creepy heterosexual jealousy triangle but frankly i wish that if you do romance them both in me3 you find garrus and kaidan talking to each other like chill adults in the middle of a war or even find them flirting. maybe that will calm people down a bit
likewise i do wish there were more funny bits if you're bringing past LIs and current LIs with you on events or you find them talking their weird dynamic with shepard out. now i don't think EVERY character would act super ok about this bc it can be emotive for real but i think we should at least get some scenes of "ok we're cool about this" or jokes about exes or teaming up to make fun of shepard. i think especially if you romance liara in me1 and tali/garrus in me2 or ash/kaidan by me3 regardless of who you decide to romance they should be doing a whole bit about it. they should be side-whispering dramatically and smirking and eyeing you. not even in a threesome way (though that would be fun) but in a fun conspiratorial way. these people are COLLEAGUES and even FRIENDS AND ALLIES. they have known each other for YEARS. they are going to be COOL about having fucked shepard at some point.
kasumi needs to get into kaidan pronto.
miranda and ashley should have fucked in me3 idk how and why it happens but it does. you just stumble upon them in the citadel dlc or something.
more chakwas + every crew member, immediately. i also need every single squadmate to have an unspoken crush on chakwas unless it's creepy or unfun (like zaeed) or out of character (thane). i need tali to drunkenly vc one of the other older cast and ask if it's just her and is chakwas kind of a dilf, and the other party members are completely silent until they stiffly agree.
i cant believe i forgot mordin exists. mordin and everyone is hilarious in its own way but i desperately wanted more of a mordin and wrex confrontation and discussion re the genophage and how mordin found it acceptable in the first place. also needed him to help liara nerd out
