Patreon Pin Up 5/28/18 (Patreon)

In my opinion, it's when art and business have a healthy and symbiotic relationship that projects turn out well. And a huge example of what can go horribly wrong when business dominates that relationship too hard can be seen in the Mass Effect series,the last two games in particular. But I've gone on about that stuff before in other posts, today's blog is all about Liara here.

For the uninitiated, the Mass Effect games allow you to pursue one or more romantic interests throughout the story. I didn't know this going in, and found my options fairly limited with my female avatar. (I had to pick the girl, she was voiced by Jennifer Hale for cryin' out loud.) The only party member who was up for girl/girl relations was this blue tentacled creature from another planet that, somehow, had an appearance that was overwhelmingly similar to an attractive Earth female. What were the odds! 

Liara had only a small part in the sequel, and since the game carried over saves from the original I was stuck with my female avatar. I found that none of the party members in ME2 were willing to totally lez out with me, so my character stayed single until Liara returned for the end of the trilogy. I have to say, the forced monogamy helped Liara become one of the more memorable love interests I've come across in any game ever. This little blue ball and chain will always be synonymous with the series to me.