History Fanfic / MassEffectMurphysLaw

Sporadic updates, over fifty chapters long, each between 4500 to 5000 words in length, it's a good few hours of reading if you want to dive directly into it. The author has also commissioned multiple pieces of artwork for the story, view-able at the ends of the chapters.

* PsychologicalTormentZone: [[spoiler:Sean enters one in his unconscious mind when suffering from the early effects of Reaper indoctrination. In it, he is tormented by his past mistakes and regrets, and the Reaper "influence" in his mind takes the form of dead members of Cerberus, specifically those who's deaths he was personally responsible for. Crosses over into [[{{MindRape}} Mind Rape]] when they actively try to kill Sean during an operation to counteract said indoctrination with an experimental implant.]]

In a different take on the Franchise/MassEffect universe, Murphy's Law is a world where the Mass Effect games never happened, leaving the characters Sean and Dan in a world very alien to them. Taking influence from a variety of different sources, mainly Franchise/{{Halo}} and TabletopGame/BattleTech, Murphy's Law manages to blend elements from these sources into the Mass Effect universe without ruining the feel of the world or turning it into a crossover fic.

[[caption-width-right:350:"Everything that can go wrong, will go wrong."]]

[[quoteright:330:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/commission_ver_1_2.png]]
[[caption-width-right:350:"Heh, удачи. That's "good luck" in Russian."]]

** Hurt his friends [[spoiler:(or god forbid you lay a finger on a child)]], and Sean will ensure your remaining time in the mortal coil is very short.

** Turns out Richard's "hobbies" include advanced cybernetic prosthesis and implants. As a medical genius, this is to be expected.

* CurbStompBattle: The battle between the [[spoiler:Migrant Fleet and Cerberus above Reach quickly becomes this, with the Quarians doing the stomping]]. It's an absolute bloodbath.

** [[spoiler:Sean's deployment of the highly-destructive Ares Device results in this, vaporizing half of the Reaper fleet on their way to Reach in an instant.]]

* FantasticRacism: [[spoiler: Admirals Zorah and Gerrel make it very clear that they do not care for Sean or his crew, but will continue supporting them as long as they keep providing the Migrant Fleet with new experimental technology.]]
** As is usually the case, Cerberus is this. Most in the organization hate the fact that Sean and his team have devoted themselves to improving the lives of the Quarians [[spoiler:(and later the Raloi)]], and have tried to capture and kill them on several occasions. [[spoiler:This comes back to bite them in the ass later down the line, when Sean and his Marines manage to infiltrate Cronos Station, eventually killing The Illusive Man.]]

* GodzillaThreshold: The development and deployment of the [[spoiler:Ares Device, a fusion bomb with a blast radius over 100,000 kilometers in diameter,]] is considered the point where Sean and his team officially cross the threshold. It terrified Sean so much that he had all records of it's development destroyed once it was finished.

* MindScrew: Any time Sean has a particularly vivid dream, or when [[spoiler: suffering from the effects of indoctrination. Later, he experiences a much milder version when communicating with the young Rachni Queen captured by Cerberus.]]

* MightyLumberjack: Dimitri exhibits shades of this, but eventually plays it straight when it's revealed he hand-carved most of the furniture used in his colony prefab, sourcing it locally from the trees native to Reach. He's even cut special wood paneling for Sean's office in CASTLE Base.

* WaterTorture: After reaching his first [[{{RageBreakingPoint}} breaking point]] in the story, Sean employs this on Lynda before Cerberus activates a kill-switch implanted inside her.

* WaterTorture: After reaching [[spoiler: his first {{RageBreakingPoint}} in the story, Sean employs this on Lynda before Cerberus activates a kill-switch implanted inside her.]]

** Sean's music (and occasionally Dan's) becomes a topic of "interest" throughout the story, mostly to the Quarians they interact with. Though not aliens, it is even [[PopCulturalOsmosisFailure considered unusual to some of his human friends,]] [[FishOutOfTemporalWater considering how old his music really is.]]

** [[spoiler:The Director appears as the main antagonist for two chapters, before disappearing after the destruction of the Barn.]]
** Randall Ezno appears as a member of the Cerberus team sent to investigate [[spoiler:Ferris Fields]], surprising everyone with his biotics. He later shows up again at the [[spoiler:Overlord facility]], with orders to retrieve the project data and trigger the facility's nuclear failsafe. [[spoiler:He discovers what Gavin Archer inflicted on his brother, David, and is allowed to leave in peace after handing over all the information he has on Cerberus and swearing off the organization.]]

** Turns out Richard's "hobbies" include advanced cybernetic prosthesis and implants.

** The Phantom-class frigates, a flying wing stealth ship featuring the latest reactor and FTL tech, and created with a mix of quarian and human design elements.

* DeadpanSnarker: More like Cast Of Snark. Given the appropriate moment, everyone will snark and will do it with or without a big smile.

* DescriptionPorn: The technical details of the various tech and science can get a little involved.

* DueToTheDead: Once back home at Serenity Valley, [[spoiler: Jack is given a proper funeral with everyone except Dan in attendance.]]

* GadgeteerGenius: Though all members of the old Task Force exhibit shades of this, its most clearly seen with Richard, who not only devised a way to transform brain signals into digital code, but has [[spoiler: successfully reverse-engineered and reproduced Geth tech, constructed cybernetics to improve the Quarian immune system, and managed to build a whole new body for Lydia.]]
* GeniusDitz: While some members of the team exhibit shades of this, it can most clearly be seen with Sira, who has been observed staring at the sky for extended periods of time or talking about the weather on entirely different planets with no provocation. Richard is a close second, though most of his "quirkiness" stems from him being very lazy.
** Given how old Sira is by Asari standards, this could just be an adolescent tick.

* HumansAreBastards: Cerberus is the flip-side to Sean's idealism and altruistic attitudes. When the veil has been lifted, they make no effort to hide that they are complete bastards that disregard everyone, even their own people.

* KnifeNut: Dan is one of these, keeping at least two razor-sharp knives on him at all times in addition to his private collection.

* LogicBomb: Lampshaded, and averted. Dan tries this on Powell during their first meeting on Aldrin Station as a test, only to have him laugh and repeat a different paradox back at him. This establishes how advanced Richard's AI development is.

* NoSocialSkills: Dan had great difficulty talking to people before meeting Sean.

** After discovering the [[spoiler:morgue and the body of a dissected child in the Teltin facility on Pragia, he loses his temper and stabs the Cerberus mortician who was hiding in the room to death in a blind fury. This was AFTER beating the man and Sean having blood spat on his face.]]
* RaisedCatholic: Sean was brought up in a traditional Catholic household. This becomes a point of contention for Sean over the course of the story, especially after [[spoiler:the death of Jack.]] Even though he sees himself as an atheist, he begins readopting some of his old Catholic mannerisms, including using the Sign of the Cross and praying before meals.
-->'''Sean:''' Even as an atheist, I couldn't deny my upbringing. I was raised Catholic, and in many ways I always would be Catholic.

** Aldrin Station, built in the dark side of Mercury, is where Task Force Cerebellum is based, [[spoiler: until it is destroyed by Cerberus]].

* TheMainCharactersDoEverything: One has to wonder how many times Sean will have to end up in dangerous situations before he's ordered to stay in the safety of his home on Reach.

* TheyWouldCutYouUp: Sean discovers, much to his horror, [[spoiler:Cerberus won't hesitate to do this to human children in the name of unethical biotics research.]]

** While staying aboard the [[spoiler:Idenna]], the quarian crew take a liking to Sean's [[Franchise/TheElderScrolls Skyrim]] tavern music.
** Later, Sira expresses interest in Sean's old vaporwave tracks, causing Dan equal parts annoyance and bafflement.

** [[spoiler: Lydia receives a whole new BODY as a result of Richard and Powell's research, allowing her to finally be free of her card reader and function independently from computer systems. While based on the Geth mobile platforms, her body is of a unique design, effectively making her a new, unique form of life.]]

** [[spoiler: Captain Kira Haymsand her crew also turn on Cerberus after discovering the truth about what they had been doing to Alliance colonies in the Terminus, among other incriminating details. She proves vital to ending the Cerberus threat, using her ship to get Sean and his marines close enough to Cronos Station to board it.]]

* [[spoiler: Dixon, Tony, and Morgan from the Pragia facility are also this, though as lower-level members of Cerberus, they weren't privy to what was really going on, and were considered disposable by the facility's project leads.]]
* [[spoiler: Captain Kira Haymsand her crew also turn on Cerberus after discovering the truth about what they had been doing to Alliance colonies in the Terminus, among other incriminating details. She proves vital to ending the Cerberus threat, using her ship to get Sean and his marines close enough to Cronos Station to board it.]]

** [[spoiler:Randall Ezno appaears as a member of the Cerberus team sent to investigate Ferris Fields, surprising everyone with his biotics.]]

* HeroicBSOD: Dan undergoes two of these. the first occurs after [[spoiler:he fatally stabs a turian mugger to death on the Citadel,]] and the second happens when he[[spoiler: returns from The Barn after Jack's death at the hands of Cerberus.]] Both are complete with a [[{{ThousandYardStare}} Thousand-Yard Stare]].

* BoomHeadshot: [[spoiler:The Illusive Man receives and unceremonious one at the hands of Sean in Chapter 94.]]

* FamilyOfChoice: The entire original group formed from the remains of Task Force Cerebellum eventually became this, having been forced together under the banner of the Migrant Fleet. [[spoiler:They are later joined by Cerberus defectors.]]
* FanOfThePast: Sean and Dan technically become this due to how old their original lives are.

* GeniusDitz: While some members of the team exhibit shades of this, it can most clearly be seen with Sira, who has been observed staring at the sky for extended periods of time or talking about the weather on entirely different planets with no provocation.
** Given how old she is by Asari standards, this could just be an adolescent tick.

* TheyWouldCutYouUp: Sean discovers, much to his horror, that [[spoiler:Cerberus won't hesitate to do this to human children in the name of unethical biotics research.]]

** Hurt his friends (or god forbid you lay a finger on a child), and Sean will ensure your remaining time in the mortal coil is very short.

** [[spoiler:The Director appears as the main antagonist for two chapters, before dissapearing after the distruction of the Barn.]]

* SpeechImpediment: * Dan has a really bad one influenced by his Asperger's Syndrome that causes him to repeat words or fail to say them entirely, though this doesn't usually prevent him from being understood. It goes away when he's under immediate situational stress, [[spoiler: and went away permanently for Old Dan after the death of Sean in his original timeline.]]

*** Before the final design, it looked more like the [[VideoGame/{{Half-Life}} Gluon Gun]].