Critical Miss: Mass Effect
- Thread starter The Wooster
- Start date
The joke is based on the Elcor. In the Mass Effect universe, they communicate through a bunch of different ways that aren't picked up on by other species(really subtle body language type things, don't remember the exact reason they gave). Because of this their speech is monotone since that is not how they normally express emotion, so they have learned to plainly state the emotion they are having at the start of their sentences.dalek sec said:
It was a bit of a punchline in game anyway since they pretty plainly tell you when they aren't being very sincere or are patronizing, but expressing it in the way of this sort of level is meant to be the joke here.
You're not making the distinction between a joke where rape is mentioned and a rape joke.Grey Carter said:
The Penny Arcade strip used rape as the most horrible thing they could think of: rape was not trivialized or an expected consequence, it was brutal and horrifying, and the heartlessness of the PC is amplified by it. This is how rape should be viewed.
In this strip, rape is the joke. It's an "expected" and "acceptable" part of going to jail, just another aspect of justice. The joke's only funny if the thought of the Elcor raping the Volus is funny, a stand-in for rape is funny when it is male on male [http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/RapeIsFunnyWhenItIsMaleOnMale]. That's messed up.
Same joke idea (Elcor's strange speech pattern), but actually funny and not involving rape:
Moriarty70 said:
I'm commander [TEST SUBJECT NAME] and this is my favorite [COMIC NAME] on the [LOCATION].
...and that's why you shouldn't play Portal and Mass Effect at once.
...and that's why you shouldn't play Portal and Mass Effect at once.
Welcome to Earth, Mr. Alien!standokan said:
It's not horrifying or brutal however because the situation in which it's employed is inherently ridiculous. I believe you're projecting your own intent onto the PA strip, especially when you consider the followup strip, which in fact, does trivialize rape.Azuaron said:
You're also assuming that the punchline is the entirety of the joke. It is not. The punchline to the PA strip is a fairly standard "Oh isn't MMO quest structure silly!" while the main draw is the inherently ridiculous rapewolves and the concept of raping someone to sleep. That's why they make a Rapewolves t-shirt.
Elcor/Volus rape is not analogous to male on male rape because, as far as I'm aware (and I admit, my experience in this regard is limited), male humans do not explode, releasing a cloud of highly poisonous superheated gas when someone attempts to rip their clothes off. In that regard, an Elcor attempting to rape a Volus is actually rather funny.
And again, you're projecting intent. Pointing out something exists, or making a joke about it does not indicate that I think it's "acceptable". "Expected" yes but not acceptable.
This reminds me of the little back and forth my friends and I would do sometimes and when it got rediculous, one of us would say, "Chastising rebuke; That's bullshit, Dinn."
Sigh. Really?Ghengis John said:
Kal'Reegar survives his injuries on Haestrom, in part because his suit releases anti-biotics and seals itself around the wound/rupture. Tali explains they if exposed to foreign bacteria or viruses they get a fever - but they don't contract diseases unless they're Quarian diseases. When Quarians love/trust another Quarian they link suit environments and adapt themselves to each other.
All of this indicates Quarians have an active immune system. It's also made clear that Quarian/Human relationships aren't unheard of by the overheard conversation between the Quarian and Turian in Eternity on Ilium - the Quarian didn't dump her Human lover because they couldn't have a sex life, it was because he was an inconsiderate douche about it.
When Tali visits Shepard before the suicide mission, she not only mentions herbal supplements (which can be effective if you choose proven ones - let's assume Tali didn't take risks with her life by buying the 'voodoo snake oil witchcraft' variety - she also flooded her system with antibiotics, and the Normandy while probably not as sterile as the Migrant Fleet, is probably still relatively clean. Although we no longer see it, you may recall from Mass Effect 1 that everyone entering the ship undergoes decontamination.
In spite of her precautions, Tali still suffers a fever and some nausea as a result of exposing herself to Shepard for their romance encounter, but considers the the whole experience 'totally worth it'.
Ah but you forget, we're not talking about the cleanliness of the SSV Normandy, but the cleanliness of Shepard's mass relay. Which for my money will have visited more alien ports than the Normandy.Kermi said:
Sigh on that!