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[airraid]

OOC INFORMATION

Name: Tsu
Contact Information: aim; speakerpop | plurk; boldly
Personal Journal: dilithium
Age: 27
Characters Played: Captain Rude Little Shit, Dr. Grimm But Not as in Reaper, Dr. HOW DO I HAND??
Who Referred you: I let myself in.

IN-CHARACTER INFORMATION

Name: Jeff "Joker" Moreau
Fandom: Mass Effect
Age: 31 as of the events of ME3
Canon Point: Just before the return to Earth and the end of the Reaper war. (Basically, just before endgame happens. Before shit gets real.)
Original Universe or Alternate Universe? CRAU from outsiders

Personality: Contrary to his nickname, Joker was not a very happy, smiling kid when he was growing up. In the beginning of the first game, he is very quick to make sure Shepard takes note of the fact that all of the commendations he earned during flight school were not just given to him because of his illness. While it might sound like he's bragging when he rambles on about surpassing all of his peers and even some of the flight instructors, he really is just telling the truth. He didn't want to be the kid that everyone felt sorry for, didn't want to be known simply as the sick little kid that couldn't walk, and so worked as hard as he could to make sure everyone would remember him for the things he'd done. He is not the type to ever take anything for granted, or to take what he thinks as hand-outs just because he's not as healthy as the other members of the Normandy's crew.

While the fact that he is quick to boast his skill makes him come off as arrogant, that is actually quite far from the truth. He has never seen the merit in embellishing, though he never has had to - because he really was the best of the best while he was in flight school. The fact alone that Shepard places so much implicit trust in his abilities says a lot, and Joker takes it to heart when his commander says something about believing in his skill to get them where they need to go, or to make sure nothing will happen to them while he and his squad are away from the ship on a mission. Joker takes great pride in his abilities, honing his skill to the sharpest that he can, just so he'll be able to do all the things his commander expects him to be able to do, and to not let him down in the process.

Joker isn't, all told, the most personable member of the Normandy's crew. He can be quoted as saying that Shepard should "ask .. a people-person" with regards to crew morale and things like that, and it's more than apparent that he is much more comfortable staying in the cockpit and watching the controls on his console than with dealing with people on a regular basis. This doesn't mean by any stretch that he can't deal with people - just that he prefers not to, most of the time. He would much rather work solo, if given the choice, which might have been a contributing factor in his decision to go to flight school in the first place, but that is all pretty much up to speculation, since we don't know much about his life prior to his joining the Alliance.

He is very quick-witted, and has a very sharp tongue. On more than one occasion in the second game, he can be heard making rather cutting remarks with regards to the ship's new AI, EDI. (He doesn't even acknowledge the AI as more than an 'it' until he has to go to all the trouble of completely unlocking her controls when he needs her help to take the ship back from the Collector invasion.) More often than not, he would much rather give a sarcastic quip in response to a direct question unless it somehow involves how the Normandy is peforming. He normally isn't very chatty, but he's very quick to give his opinion on certain things, one of which being the various crew members Shepard picks up along the way with the dossiers The Illusive Man gives him. (He makes offhand comments about Jack being crazy, says Jacob is way too nice for how many ways he knows how to kill people, so on and so forth.) And even given the fact that he previously gave his loyalty to the Alliance and all that it stood for, when he takes up with Cerberus, it seems he develops a bit of respect for them - or at least the operatives that were involved with the Lazarus Project to bring Shepard back from the dead. (Perhaps, though, this tells more of his loyalty to the commander himself than anyone else.)

Also, while it does seem that he is outwardly callous, ornery and generally difficult to deal with on occasion - he did build something of a bond with the SR-1's crew. When they lose a crewmember on Virmire, he deals with it in his own way, becoming more introspective than anyone is sure to have ever seen him, saying that he needs some time on his own to grieve the loss. It might come as something of a surprise that he is actually a caring individual - but rarely allows anyone to get close enough to him to see that side of him. (In that respect, he is a bit like Jack, but his defensive tendencies in that respect come more from not wanting to be coddled just because of his disease when he was younger; not being mistreated, as it was in her case.)

One of the largest things that has shaped him as a character (at least recently, with regards to his canon-point) has to be the attack on the SR-2 by the Collectors when Shepard and his crew are off-ship on a mission. When EDI informs him that there was a virus in the IFF that ends up transmitting their position and a Collector ship shows up, at first he blames the AI for not being able to detect and wipe it out from the very beginning, keeping the whole situation from happening in the first place - but he sobers up quickly enough when the AI tells him what he needs to do to allow her to retake the ship. (Even if he balks at the idea of giving her complete control, he knows that it's what needs to be done.) Watching his fellow crewmembers fall at the hands of the Collectors making their way through the ship really does a number on him, but he manages to get EDI the power she needs to purge the Normandy of its unwanted guests. When she tells him that no crewmembers remain, he can't help but feel there might have been more he could have done to save them, even if ultimately his mission is seen as a success. At its end, when EDI asks him if he is feeling all right, there is a defeated look that flickers across his face as he makes his way out of Engineering. The fact that he flatly replies with "no" gives insight to just how hard it was on him, even though he managed to save the ship.

There is one good thing that comes from the Collector invasion, though - given all the trouble Joker had to go to in order to give EDI control of the Normandy in the first place, he discovered a newfound respect for her along the way. At the end of the encounter, he can be quoted as finally calling the AI "her" and "she" instead of "it." Joker is much more open to having her in control of the ship now, even if Shepard wonders if his pilot is worried that she might end up replacing him, as she has in the absence of the rest of the Normandy's crew. Joker has no problem at all with sharing the responsibilities, since he's found out that they both operate better when they work together. They even go so far as to joke with one another, where before it wasn't much more than pranks pulled from either side.

All told - yes, sometimes Joker can be difficult to deal with. He's sarcastic, blunt and doesn't usually give much though to what comes out of his mouth before it does. (Whether in regards to himself or whether or not it might come off as .. a little too much for someone else.) He takes his job aboard the Normandy very seriously, will execute every task to the best of his ability, but he does know how to let go every once in a while and amuse himself. (Usually, it entails messing with EDI, participating in an ongoing prank war between the two of them.) He is extremely loyal to anyone he deems worthy enough - in this case, his loyalty lies with Commander Shepard and the decisions he makes - and it takes a lot for him to lose that faith. He may have a few qualities that make him come off as more than just a little obnoxious from time to time, but he is a good guy underneath it all - even if his sense of humor tends to lack in some cases.

There is a small change – or maybe it's more of a shift – in his personality as far as the events in the third game go. While he forges something of an alliance with EDI in the second game, when the AI gains the use of a robotic body In the third, he comes to see her as even more of an individual instead of just an AI. They build something of a relationship and, taking into consideration what Shepard tells either of them on the matter, either follow through with a romance or remain friends. This little tidbit doesn't however, change his core personality.

Background: Joker on the Mass Effect wiki, as well as a reference for the Mass Effect 3 setting.

Also, CR goes here. There won't be much.

Blah blah blah, stuck on Omega, surrounded by mercs and dirty batarians. Adjutants attacked and even though he didn't get involved with them, he knows what they are. ( Husks with an attitude, basically. Zombiesssss. )

He got pretty close with York, worked up a security scheme to get them both credits which allowed him to get his shuttle – which is when he started giving flying lessons to one Stiles Stilinski. ( Kid called him Uncle Joker. Not even kidding. ) He also got Marco – same kid that North adopted – drunk after he found a dead body in his apartment. ( That he actually killed as a merc initiation thing. No big deal, right. )

The biggest thing of note, really, is that he was roommates with South Dakota – and while they didn't really get along very well in the beginning, they totally ended up being bros and uh. Drinking together and hooking up. TOTALLY JUST A ONE-NIGHT STAND but there are feelings there that neither of them are really willing to discuss. Suffice it to say that she's going to keep tsuning at him and he's going to keep being a little jackass. ( Seriously, though .. can you guys handle him and Kirk in the same game? )

Other Notables: Here there be a list of the most important decisions to be made across all three games, as well as the Cdr. Shepard this pilot knows as his.

Inventory: One (1) Alliance-issue uniform (complete with those standard-issue shorts that he hates so much. sorry, kiddo. cerberus ain't funding you no mo'.)
One (1) hat that covers his terrible bedhead (or may just be the cause of it, who the hell knows.)
One (1) credit chit with 427 credits on it (because let's face it – kid ain't good at saving money.)
One (1) issue of Fornax (.. no comment.)
Pocket lint
A zest for life
A charming personality ( sound familiar? you sure you can handle both kirk and this guy? )

SAMPLES

NETWORK SAMPLE:
→ Arrival @ Omega
→ Who wants flying lessons?

LOG SAMPLE:
→ Joker & South // Let's get druuuunk

( and also because I will always be proud of having written this, you get an actual sample. )

"We can save the Normandy, Mr. Moreau, but you must help me.

Give me the ship."

"What? You're crazy!"

His heart was racing. Even with the constant thrum of background noise behind him in the CIC, the only thing he could focus on was the sound of the blood pounding in his ears, an angry, erratic rush of sound matched by that of his heart. A glance over his shoulder, and then another, and he could see the other members of the crew standing at the ready, prepared to defend the ship with their lives -

He needed to move. Just take a deep breath and go. You're a fucking sitting duck if you stay here.

Okay. Okay.

One - Christ, those goddamn things are ugly. Scions? That what they're called? Wonder if anyone's ever tried telling them they need to moisturize. Bet that's what started this whole thing in the first place. Somebody got offended and decided to take it out on humanity. Jeez.

Two - Kenneth still owes me a hundred credits from that last poker game we played .. huh. We make it through this, and I'll let it slide this time .. but I'm never trusting one of his bluffs ever again.

Three - Goddamn it, Shepard, you're supposed to be here to help me fix this. What the hell made you think it was going to be a good idea -

Fuck it. Just run.

In his case, running meant limping as quickly as he could through the tech lab. Even through the bulkheads, he could hear the sounds of the crew's gunfire, the answering inhuman screeches and the subsequent screams as the echo of bullets hitting their targets and ejected thermal clips hitting the floor faded to nothing.

He was dragging himself through the mess that had been made of his ship, barely managing to put one foot in front of the other, and it had gone quiet again. All except for the intermittent warnings from EDI that he was getting too close to being spotted.

It was too damn quiet, but his heart was pounding in the back of his throat, and the shadows creeping across the walls as a group of Collectors passed through Engineering above him had his stomach dropping straight through the damn floor. Breathe. Breathe, goddamn it. They're counting on you to save them.

So save them.

When EDI took control of the ship, the relief that washed over him was immediate. And consuming.

When she told him that the entire crew had been taken, it was right fucking back to square one.

.. Well. A heavy breath in, even if it didn't feel right. Didn't sit well in lungs that wanted no part of it. And he couldn't let it go.

It felt like he was very slowly suffocating.

You did what you could. It was all you could do. At least you got the ship back.

It wasn't until he was safely back in his chair in the cockpit that he could finally let that breath go. Its shaky exit gave the tremors that followed entrance, and he was damned if could stop them. His body ached, his chest was too tight, his mind was so profoundly fucked -

.. oh. Shepard was standing behind his chair. Well.

Time to pick it up, Moreau.

Can't let them see you like this.

Another breath in. This time, he couldn't hold it.