[158] The curlicues are actually fleet markings, but Gryphon doesn't know how to read the quarian alphabet.

[196] Like any good quarian officer, Captain Dakka has an eye toward economy - though in this case he's applying it ironically, since he just spent a significant portion of the Flotilla's military budget for fiscal 2356 on that spacefold.

[232] Vedik emerges as a quietly heroic figure in the background of this piece; he doesn't do or say much, but what he does speaks volumes.

[260] Maybe it's just me, and I admit that I haven't played all the available variations, but I've noticed that in neither Mass Effect game does any participant in any romance plot ever, at any time, actually utter the word "love". They talk about respect and "caring for" and all that, which is all good stuff, can't have a working relationship without it, but... nobody ever just says "I love you." When I finished Star-Crossed, I noticed that I had done the same thing and decided that no, I wasn't going to let it remain unsaid here.

[316] As Tommy James and the Shondells put it in their 1969 hit "Crimson and Clover", Yeah, I'm not such a sweet thing, I wanna do everything, what a beautiful feeling, crimson and clover, over and over.

[360] Riff on the 2006 Top Gear Winter Olympics special, in which one of the running jokes was that the names of the events didn't fit on the big light-up signs at the venues, prompting Clarkson to announce them as written: "I declare the Top Gear Car Ice Hockey Cha open!"

[369] This is true. I did letter in marching band.

[388] See, beer can affect Detians. It just takes rather a lot of it. And a willingness to be affected.

[403] This is also true, although how the hell Mordin knew it I hesitate to even wonder.

[454] In the film, this paragraph would be a dolly zoom on Gryphon's face.

[550] When I was working on this scene, I was momentarily at a loss as to what could possibly prevent Tali from charging down that hill and into eternity, as it were. It was Phil who pointed out that it had to be Mordin - given how close he and Tali have become over the course of this story, nobody else could have done it. And karmically speaking, it's his chance to pay her back for what she did for him in Democracy.

[579] "Feelings? Look, mate, you know who has a lot of feelings? Blokes what bludgeon their wives to death with a golf trophy."

[675] This graf prompted Geoff to remark that maybe I should call the whole story The Crying of Lot 490, but I decided that would be a) cruel and b) a helluva shaggy dog story.

If Captain Dakka is a specifically military type, than I cannot help but feel that he's a "Full speed ahead and damn the torpedoes!" commander.

"It's difficult keeping up with the cross-continuity, but I think Cosmouse just gave The Saturnian Scraphunter his Ultimate Pacifier to use against Galactapuss..."

I'd say they're keeping it for the finale when it'll have the most punch.