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* CripplingOverspecialization: In general, she's good against geth and mechs, decent against 'standard' troops (tech-based mercenaries, Cerberus), and very ineffective compared to just about every other squadmate against purely combat or biotic based enemies like Husks, Collectors, and Blood Pack. In the first game this was fine because geth and 'standard' troops were almost all of the enemies, but she runs full into this territory in the second game, where she's only really worth bringing on missions with lots of synthetics. The third game gives her more flexibility by buffing her powers in general (e.g. Energy Drain does more damage and works on biotic barriers/organic health; Combat Drone has its recharge time cut down to ''1/10'' of what it once was and can now shoot rockets) and giving her access to better shotguns like the Wraith (and weapon mods).
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** She seems to like this trope. If she's Shepard's love interest, then she makes her entrance in the Citadel DLC by electrocuting two mercenaries to death with her omni-tool, ''then'' pulling out her shotgun for the next firefight after they're both dead. The other (non-biotic) potential rescuers just shoot them.
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** She actually {{Lampshade}}s this a few times. If taken to the Presidium in the second game [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w3_NM77WAVU she'll comment]] that those assassins seemed much more dangerous at the time than they would now. If romanced, in the Citadel DLC of the third game she turns up after the ambush in the sushi restaurant via fighting her way through an unknown number of power-armored, heavily armed mercenaries, easily finishing off two just as Shepard first meets up with her. This causes her to make a CallBack to the time where she had trouble with three far more lightly equipped mercs last time she got into a firefight in the Wards. See the quote under RescueRomance.
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* BadassNormal: Serves on a team of psychic super soldiers who can toss armored vehicles with their minds, super strong combat robots, superhuman psychic assassins, a half-human cyborg, and half-ton organic walking tanks, and often fights enemies of that same caliber. She manages to more than hold her own in these situations with nothing but her technical knowledge, military training, guns, and gadgets.[[note]]Technically, she may have some enhancements, as according to the codex quarians often do get cybernetic implants for various reasons like interacting with their suits. But if she did, they don't appear to have made her superhuman at all, just stronger than she looks and perhaps as strong as a considerably strong human. In some ways she's actually ''weaker'' than a normal human, e.g. her fragile immune system.[[/note]] Notably, a lot of her powers (Damping, Energy Drain/Overload, Sabotage) are basically AntiMagic gadgets designed to nerf enemy capabilities, suggesting she expects to go in outmatched.
** This aspect is particularly notable in her fights against the geth, whose ''weakest'' troops, in addition to coming equipped with highly advanced shields and pulse weaponry, are strong enough to [[https://forums.spacebattles.com/threads/mass-effect-calcs-and-general-mass-effect-tech-discussion-and-number-crunching.315746/page-13#post-22325657 bench press a small car.]] On top of that they don't feel fear or pain, can [[http://masseffect.wikia.com/wiki/Codex/Aliens:_Non-Council_Races#Geth:_Armatures repair themselves with microbots mid-combat,]] [[http://masseffect.wikia.com/wiki/Hunter_Mode communicate with each other wirelessly and at the speed of light, can enhance the power of their guns, can see through walls,]] and can drop from hundreds of feet up and hit the ground without being harmed, essentially giving them the synthetic equivalents of SuperToughness, FeelNoPain, SuperSenses, a HealingFactor, and {{Telepathy}} in addition to SuperStrength. And that's before you get into the nine-foot tall GiantMook varieties (Hunters, Destroyers, Juggernauts) with heavy weapons. Despite all of that, she still manages to kill dozens to hundreds of geth over the course of the trilogy, and is arguably the most effective squadmate against them due to her technical skills. Even more effective than the aforementioned vehicle-tossing biotics and organic tanks.
** This aspect is particularly notable in her fights against the geth, whose ''weakest'' troops, in addition to coming equipped with highly advanced shields and pulse weaponry, are strong enough to [[https://forums.spacebattles.com/threads/mass-effect-calcs-and-general-mass-effect-tech-discussion-and-number-crunching.315746/page-13#post-22325657 bench press a small car.]] On top of that they don't feel fear or pain, can [[http://masseffect.wikia.com/wiki/Codex/Aliens:_Non-Council_Races#Geth:_Armatures repair themselves with microbots mid-combat,]] [[http://masseffect.wikia.com/wiki/Hunter_Mode communicate with each other wirelessly and at the speed of light, can enhance the power of their guns, can see through walls,]] and can drop from hundreds of feet up and hit the ground without being harmed, essentially giving them the synthetic equivalents of SuperToughness, FeelNoPain, SuperSenses, a HealingFactor, and {{Telepathy}} in addition to SuperStrength. And that's before you get into the nine-foot tall GiantMook varieties (Hunters, Destroyers, Juggernauts) with heavy weapons. Despite all of that, she still manages to kill dozens to hundreds of geth over the course of the trilogy, and is arguably the most effective squadmate against them due to her technical skills. Even more effective than the aforementioned vehicle-tossing biotics and organic tanks.
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* MinoredInAsskicking: She's most notable for her genius in electronics, hacking, and robotics, rather than her skill with a gun. Even in combat missions, most of her powers revolve around disabling enemy equipment (e.g. Overload/Energy Drain disables shields, Hacking/Sabotage turns robotic enemies against their masters) or deploying a AttackDrone to aid her (particularly in the third game, where the combat drone can be upgraded to [[MoreDakka fire rockets]] and can be deployed with an additional "DefenseDrone"). However, she still does have [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yk8_iHLSwMA&t=1m6s the best military training on the Migrant Fleet]], and is fully capable of slaughtering her way through mercenaries, geth, and Cerberus with a good shotgun and HandCannon.
* MusclesAreMeaningless: She's thin and lightly built, but surprisingly strong. She manages to [[TakeMyHand easily pull the very heavily armored and armed, potentially 150+ kg male Shepard to safety]] on the Geth Dreadnought, as well as potentially the Collector Base and the climax of the Citadel DLC. For an idea of how hard that it is, [[http://www.discovery.com/tv-shows/mythbusters/videos/dangling-damsel/ the average man]] struggles a lot to pull up someone about a third of Shepard's potential weight in that scenario. It's implied at a few points that quarians are stronger than humans of the same weight, so that might explain it.
* MusclesAreMeaningless: She's thin and lightly built, but surprisingly strong. She manages to [[TakeMyHand easily pull the very heavily armored and armed, potentially 150+ kg male Shepard to safety]] on the Geth Dreadnought, as well as potentially the Collector Base and the climax of the Citadel DLC. For an idea of how hard that it is, [[http://www.discovery.com/tv-shows/mythbusters/videos/dangling-damsel/ the average man]] struggles a lot to pull up someone about a third of Shepard's potential weight in that scenario. It's implied at a few points that quarians are stronger than humans of the same weight, so that might explain it.
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* MinoredInAsskicking: She's most notable for her genius in electronics, hacking, and robotics, rather than her skill with a gun. Even in combat missions, most of her powers revolve around disabling enemy equipment (e.g. Overload/Energy Drain disables shields, Hacking/Sabotage turns robotic enemies against their masters) or deploying a AttackDrone to aid her (particularly in the third game, where the combat drone can be upgraded to [[MoreDakka fire rockets]] and can be deployed with an additional "DefenseDrone")."Defense Drone"). However, she still does have [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yk8_iHLSwMA&t=1m6s the best military training on the Migrant Fleet]], and is fully capable of slaughtering her way through mercenaries, geth, and Cerberus with a good shotgun and HandCannon.
* MusclesAreMeaningless: She's thin and lightly built, but surprisingly strong. She can use [[{{BFG}} very heavy shotguns]] like the Crusader without any trouble, which are on par in terms of weight and recoil with anti-materiel rifles. She also manages to [[TakeMyHand easily pull the very heavily armored and armed, potentially 150+ kg male Shepard to safety]] on the Geth Dreadnought, as well as potentially on the Collector Base and at the climax of the Citadel DLC. For an idea of how hard thatit is, [[http://www.discovery.com/tv-shows/mythbusters/videos/dangling-damsel/ when the Mythbusters tested it]] they discovered that an average man]] struggles man struggled a lot to pull up someone about a third of Shepard's potential weight in that scenario. It's implied at a few points that quarians are stronger than humans of the same weight, so that might explain it.
* MusclesAreMeaningless: She's thin and lightly built, but surprisingly strong. She can use [[{{BFG}} very heavy shotguns]] like the Crusader without any trouble, which are on par in terms of weight and recoil with anti-materiel rifles. She also manages to [[TakeMyHand easily pull the very heavily armored and armed, potentially 150+ kg male Shepard to safety]] on the Geth Dreadnought, as well as potentially on the Collector Base and at the climax of the Citadel DLC. For an idea of how hard that
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* ShockAndAwe: She could use Overload in the first game. This was replaced by Energy Drain in the second and third games, which is unique to her, except for potentially Shepard. Energy Drain buffs her own shields in addition to draining enemy shields[[note]]in the third game, it also stuns enemies hit by hit for a few seconds[[/note]], but lacks the [[ChainLightning certain]] offensive properties that Overload gains in the third game.
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* ShockAndAwe: She could use Overload in the first game. This was replaced by Energy Drain in the second and third games, which is unique to her, except for potentially Shepard. Energy Drain buffs her own shields in addition to draining enemy shields[[note]]in the third game, it also damages organic enemies and stuns enemies hit by hit for a few seconds[[/note]], but lacks the [[ChainLightning certain]] offensive properties that Overload gains in the third game.game.
** All of her powers in the third game come with the secondary effect of electrocuting her enemies. Energy Drain now stuns and damages organic enemies if used on them rather than just destroying their shields, Sabotage used on organics causes weapons to backfire and electrocute them, and both her Combat Drones and her Defense Drones have an electric shock as their main attack. At least until the Combat Drone gets upgraded to fire rockets. Energy Drain can also prime and trigger [[ChainLightning Tech Bursts]].
** All of her powers in the third game come with the secondary effect of electrocuting her enemies. Energy Drain now stuns and damages organic enemies if used on them rather than just destroying their shields, Sabotage used on organics causes weapons to backfire and electrocute them, and both her Combat Drones and her Defense Drones have an electric shock as their main attack. At least until the Combat Drone gets upgraded to fire rockets. Energy Drain can also prime and trigger [[ChainLightning Tech Bursts]].
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** [[FridgeBrilliance Alternatively]], it could be due to the cybernetic implants that the Quarians have- seeing as how a femshep with Cerberus cybernetics can easily overpower James in their sparring match.
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* SingleWomanSeeksGoodMan: Her romance with a Paragon Shepard is just ''made'' of this trope, and also works as a nice GenderFlipped version.
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* StatuesqueStunner: [[http://masseffect.wikia.com/wiki/Tali'Zorah_nar_Rayya#Trivia Officially listed at 5'8.]] That makes her pretty tall even before considering the fact that quarians are generally slighter and shorter than humans (Golo, an average quarian male, was "a few inches over five feet"). To quarians, Tali may be something of a giantess.
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* StatuesqueStunner: [[http://masseffect.wikia.com/wiki/Tali'Zorah_nar_Rayya#Trivia com/wiki/Tali%27Zorah_nar_Rayya#Trivia Officially listed at 5'8.]] That makes her pretty tall even before considering the fact that quarians are generally slighter and shorter than humans (Golo, an average quarian male, was "a few inches over five feet"). To quarians, Tali may be something of a giantess.
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** The prequel comic "Mass Effect: Homeworlds" has her killing Commander Jacobus (the leader of Saren's mercenaries) by locking him in an incinerator and [[CruelAndUnusualDeath burning him to death.]]
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* TrueCompanions: While this trope applies for most of the Normandy team, Tali eventually comes to consider the Normandy Team her true family more than anyone else, as indicated by her AppropriatedAppellation.
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** This gets taken even further if Shepard and Tali are in a romantic relationship; Tali outright says that she trusts Shepard more than anyone else, hence why they... [[UnusualEuphemism linked suits.]] [[spoiler: Best summed up in four simple words near the end of the third game. Given the almost religious significance "the homeworld" has in quarian culture, and how she had previously remarked on wanting to build a home there, it's quite a powerful exchange.]]
-->''[Tali is injured and Shepard has demanded she be extracted, despite her protests]''
-->'''Shepard:''' ''[tenderly]'' I need you to make it out of here alive, Tali. ''[strokes her head]'' Go back to Rannoch... build yourself a home
-->'''Tali:''' ''[tearfully]'' [[spoiler: I ''have'' a home.]]
-->''[Tali is injured and Shepard has demanded she be extracted, despite her protests]''
-->'''Shepard:''' ''[tenderly]'' I need you to make it out of here alive, Tali. ''[strokes her head]'' Go back to Rannoch... build yourself a home
-->'''Tali:''' ''[tearfully]'' [[spoiler: I ''have'' a home.]]
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* AppropriatedAppellation: During her loyalty quest [[spoiler: the Admiralty board (specifically Zaal'Koris) has Tali's ship name changed from "vas Neema" to "vas Normandy," in the belief that being associated with a human ship (and having a human captain represent her instead of a quarian) would hurt her chances of avoiding exile. After you earn Tali's loyalty (especially if you proved the admirals wrong and got Tali acquitted without the evidence), she decides to let the name stick]].
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* AppropriatedAppellation: During her loyalty quest [[spoiler: the Admiralty board (specifically Zaal'Koris) has Tali's ship name changed from "vas Neema" to "vas Normandy," in the belief that being associated with a human ship (and having a human captain represent her instead of a quarian) would hurt her chances of avoiding exile. After you earn Tali's loyalty (especially if you proved the admirals wrong and got Tali acquitted without the evidence), she decides to let the name stick]]. Notably, she still keeps the name in the third game, when every other quarian has taken to using "vas Rannoch".
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** She was running missions against the geth in the two-year time skip between the first and second games, and apparently did quite well. She's been promoted to the leader of a classified expedition by the time Shepard sees her. Additionally, the 'corpses' of the geth she sent back to her father only made up a small minority of all the geth she and the teams she was with killed, yet were enough to reconstruct at least a company of troops.
** Some of the ambient dialogue in her loyalty mission from random quarians includes lines such as "If anyone can take back the Alarei, Tali'Zorah can". So apparently she did do quite well for herself in the time skip.
** Some of the ambient dialogue in her loyalty mission from random quarians includes lines such as "If anyone can take back the Alarei, Tali'Zorah can". So apparently she did do quite well for herself in the time skip.
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** She was running missions against the geth in the two-year time skip between the first and second games, and apparently did quite well.pretty well on them. She's been promoted to the leader of a classified expedition by the time Shepard sees her. Additionally, the 'corpses' of the geth she sent back to her father only made up a small minority of all the geth she and the teams she was with killed, yet were enough to reconstruct at least a company of troops.
** Some of the ambient dialogue in her loyalty mission from random quarians includes lines such as "If anyone can take back the Alarei, Tali'Zorah can". So apparently she did doquite very well for herself in the time skip.
** Some of the ambient dialogue in her loyalty mission from random quarians includes lines such as "If anyone can take back the Alarei, Tali'Zorah can". So apparently she did do
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** Inverted again in the Citadel DLC.
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** Inverted again Referenced in the Citadel DLC.
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Dang 20 minute limits...
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** This trait is also a major part of her RomanceSidequest; at the start of it, she feels as if she's being unprofessional and selfish just for considering it. In the second game, she initially tries to back out of the relationship, even apologizing for bringing up the idea, due to a combination of IWantMyBelovedToBeHappy and concern that it could negatively affect her duties on the mission. In the third game, she tells Shepard right at the start of the Rannoch arc that she probably won't come back on the Normandy after the quarian-geth war is over, despite how much she wants to, because "My people need me". The emotional climax of her whole romance arc across both games is when she finally gains enough confidence in herself and her relationship to pursue it fully. After that, she and Shepard get along splendidly.
-->'''Shepard:''' Are you okay? I know working with the geth would be difficult-
-->'''Shepard:''' Are you okay? I know working with the geth would be difficult-
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** This trait is also a major part of her RomanceSidequest; at the start of it, she feels as if she's being unprofessional and selfish just for considering it. In the second game, she initially tries to back out of the relationship, even apologizing for bringing up the idea, due to a combination of IWantMyBelovedToBeHappy and concern that it could negatively affect her duties on the mission. In the third game, she tells Shepard right at the start of the Rannoch arc that she probably won't come back on the Normandy after the quarian-geth war is over, despite how much she wants to, because "My people need me". The emotional climax of her whole romance arc across both games is comes at the end of the Rannoch arc, when she finally gains enough confidence in herself and her relationship to pursue it fully. After that, she and Shepard get along splendidly.
-->'''Shepard:''' Are you okay? I know working with the geth would bedifficult-difficult.
-->'''Shepard:''' Are you okay? I know working with the geth would be
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-->'''Shepard:''' [[DeadpanSnarker So, that's usual kind of a big deal for you.]]
-->'''Tali:''' I gave up my father for my people. I gave up my freedom for an admiral position I didn’t want. [[UndyingUnloyalty I won't let it take you.]]
-->'''Tali:''' I gave up my father for my people. I gave up my freedom for an admiral position I didn’t want. [[UndyingUnloyalty I won't let it take you.]]
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-->'''Shepard:''' [[DeadpanSnarker So, that's usual usually kind of a big deal for you.]]
-->'''Tali:''' I gave up my father for my people. I gave up my freedom for an admiral position I didn’t want.[[UndyingUnloyalty I won't let it take [[HeartwarmingMoments I'm not giving up you.]]
-->'''Tali:''' I gave up my father for my people. I gave up my freedom for an admiral position I didn’t want.
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* WatchingTheSunset: Does this while sitting on a cliff with Shepard at the end of the Rannoch arc in the third game (provided she survived). She even takes off her mask, to see the sunset without a visor in the way. It's a particularly touching scene if Shepard is romancing her, especially given the conversation that accompanies it.
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* GuiltComplex: A major part of her character is that she tends to place enormous blame on herself whenever something in her life goes wrong, justified or not. This extends to situations where she couldn't possibly be held responsible, like the death of her team on Haestrom (as a poorly conceived and unnecessary SuicideMission from the start, that one's on the admirals) or her failure to prevent the re-ignition of the quarian-geth war (the geth were refusing to negotiate, and the admiralty board was stacked with pro-war admirals).
** This trait is also a major part of her RomanceSidequest; at the start of it, she feels as if she's being unprofessional and selfish just for considering it. In the second game, she initially tries to back out of the relationship, even apologizing for bringing up the idea, due to a combination of IWantMyBelovedToBeHappy and concern that it could negatively affect her duties on the mission. In the third game, she tells Shepard right at the start of the Rannoch arc that she probably won't come back on the Normandy after the quarian-geth war is over, despite how much she wants to, because "My people need me". The emotional climax of her whole romance arc across both games is when she finally gains enough confidence in herself and her relationship to pursue it fully. After that, she and Shepard get along splendidly.
-->'''Shepard:''' Are you okay? I know working with the geth would be difficult-
-->'''Tali:''' I'm not staying. I'm coming with you.
-->'''Shepard:''' I wasn't going to ask...
-->'''Tali:''' Why not?
-->'''Shepard:''' Because I respect you, dammit! You think I don't want you to come with me?
-->'''Tali:''' ''Then ask me''.
-->'''Shepard:''' Tali-
-->'''Tali:''' I don't know how much time we have left. I don't know if we can beat the Reapers. But whatever happens, I want to be with you.
-->'''Shepard:''' ''[relieved]'' ...I bet you say that to every guy that gets you a homeworld.
-->'''Tali:''' Only the cute ones.
** This is arguably more pronounced in the 'Renegade' version of that conversation:
-->'''Tali:''' I'm not staying. I'm coming with you.
-->'''Shepard:''' I thought your people needed you?
-->'''Tali:''' So?
-->'''Shepard:''' [[DeadpanSnarker So, that's usual kind of a big deal for you.]]
-->'''Tali:''' I gave up my father for my people. I gave up my freedom for an admiral position I didn’t want. [[UndyingUnloyalty I won't let it take you.]]
** This trait is also a major part of her RomanceSidequest; at the start of it, she feels as if she's being unprofessional and selfish just for considering it. In the second game, she initially tries to back out of the relationship, even apologizing for bringing up the idea, due to a combination of IWantMyBelovedToBeHappy and concern that it could negatively affect her duties on the mission. In the third game, she tells Shepard right at the start of the Rannoch arc that she probably won't come back on the Normandy after the quarian-geth war is over, despite how much she wants to, because "My people need me". The emotional climax of her whole romance arc across both games is when she finally gains enough confidence in herself and her relationship to pursue it fully. After that, she and Shepard get along splendidly.
-->'''Shepard:''' Are you okay? I know working with the geth would be difficult-
-->'''Tali:''' I'm not staying. I'm coming with you.
-->'''Shepard:''' I wasn't going to ask...
-->'''Tali:''' Why not?
-->'''Shepard:''' Because I respect you, dammit! You think I don't want you to come with me?
-->'''Tali:''' ''Then ask me''.
-->'''Shepard:''' Tali-
-->'''Tali:''' I don't know how much time we have left. I don't know if we can beat the Reapers. But whatever happens, I want to be with you.
-->'''Shepard:''' ''[relieved]'' ...I bet you say that to every guy that gets you a homeworld.
-->'''Tali:''' Only the cute ones.
** This is arguably more pronounced in the 'Renegade' version of that conversation:
-->'''Tali:''' I'm not staying. I'm coming with you.
-->'''Shepard:''' I thought your people needed you?
-->'''Tali:''' So?
-->'''Shepard:''' [[DeadpanSnarker So, that's usual kind of a big deal for you.]]
-->'''Tali:''' I gave up my father for my people. I gave up my freedom for an admiral position I didn’t want. [[UndyingUnloyalty I won't let it take you.]]
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-->'''Tali:''' You deserve to be... happy with someone. [[HeroicSelfDeprecation I can't do that.]] No matter how much I... I could get sick, jeopardize the mission.
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** In addition to her skills in dealing with ships, hacking, combat tech, and robotics, she's pretty handy with firearm modification. Her Quarian Machinist passive power in the second game describes her as possessing "expertise in engineering firearms of all kinds", which is [[GameplayAndStoryIntegration given as the reason why putting points into that power increases weapon damage.]]
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* ImprobableAge: As the description for her 'Quarian Machinist' power notes: "Though young, Tali is a true genius when it comes to dealing with mechanical and electronic equipment". Indeed, Tali is only 22 in the first game, and 25 by the third, yet she's one of the best engineers and hackers in the galaxy as well as a frontline combatant with a kill count possibly into the hundreds, and the recipient of "the best military training on the quarian fleet". This is quite insane when you remember that the average starting age for a Navy SEAL or Delta Force operator in RealLife is between 29 and 33, while the average mechanical engineer tends to start around 27 (and, you know, they're usually not both). [[spoiler: Gets taken UpToEleven in the third game, where she's a genius hacker, engineer, roboticist and OneManArmy who is also an ADMIRAL. At 25.]]
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* ImprobableAge: As the description for her 'Quarian Machinist' power notes: "Though young, Tali is a true genius when it comes to dealing with mechanical and electronic equipment". Indeed, Tali is only 22 in the first game, and 25 by the third, yet she's one of the best engineers and hackers in the galaxy as well as a frontline combatant with a kill count possibly into the hundreds, and is the recipient of "the best military training on the quarian fleet". This is quite insane when you remember that the average starting age for a Navy SEAL or Delta Force operator in RealLife is between 29 and 33, while the average mechanical engineer tends to start around 27 (and, you know, they're usually not both). [[spoiler: Gets taken UpToEleven in the third game, where she's a genius hacker, engineer, roboticist and OneManArmy borderline OneWomanArmy who is also an ADMIRAL. At 25.]]
* MusclesAreMeaningless: She's thin and lightly built, but surprisingly strong. She manages to [[TakeMyHand easily pull the very heavily armored and armed, potentially 150+ kg male Shepard to safety]] on the Geth Dreadnought, as well as potentially the Collector Base and the climax of the Citadel DLC. For an idea of how hard that it is, [[http://www.discovery.com/tv-shows/mythbusters/videos/dangling-damsel/ the average man]] struggles a lot to pull up someone about a third of Shepard's potential weight in that scenario. It's implied at a few points that quarians are stronger than humans of the same weight, so that might explain it.
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** Some of the ambient dialogue in her loyalty mission from random quarians includes lines such as "If anyone can take back the Alarei, Tali'Zorah can".
** See BodyCountCompetition. She's apparently competitive with Garrus, who's quite the OneManArmy himself. She even killed more geth than he did on Ilos.
** Of course, [[GameplayAndStoryIntegration in-game,]] she's also full capable of [[https://vid.me/DQCY cleaving through squads of elite commandos on her own.]]
** See BodyCountCompetition. She's apparently competitive with Garrus, who's quite the OneManArmy himself. She even killed more geth than he did on Ilos.
** Of course, [[GameplayAndStoryIntegration in-game,]] she's also full capable of [[https://vid.me/DQCY cleaving through squads of elite commandos on her own.]]
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** Some of the ambient dialogue in her loyalty mission from random quarians includes lines such as "If anyone can take back the Alarei, Tali'Zorah can". \n So apparently she did do quite well for herself in the time skip.
** See BodyCountCompetition. She's apparently competitive withGarrus, Garrus in this regard, who's quite the OneManArmy himself. She even killed more geth than he did on Ilos.
** Of course, [[GameplayAndStoryIntegration in-game,]] she's also full capable of [[https://vid.me/DQCY cleaving through squads of elite commandos on her own.]]]] Even if she's somewhat OvershadowedByAwesome in this regard compared to, say, Wrex.
** See BodyCountCompetition. She's apparently competitive with
** Of course, [[GameplayAndStoryIntegration in-game,]] she's also full capable of [[https://vid.me/DQCY cleaving through squads of elite commandos on her own.
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* StatuesqueStunner: She is the tallest female squad-mate, only a few centimeters shorter than M!Shep. Especially when you consider the fact that quarians are generally slighter and shorter than humans. To quarians, Tali may be something of a giantess.
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* StatuesqueStunner: She is the tallest female squad-mate, only a few centimeters shorter than M!Shep. Especially when you consider [[http://masseffect.wikia.com/wiki/Tali'Zorah_nar_Rayya#Trivia Officially listed at 5'8.]] That makes her pretty tall even before considering the fact that quarians are generally slighter and shorter than humans.humans (Golo, an average quarian male, was "a few inches over five feet"). To quarians, Tali may be something of a giantess.
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* BodyCountCompetition: If she was romanced by Shepard (or Garrus was), she and Garrus can be setting up one in their final conversation in the third game. It's apparently not the first time.
-->'''Garrus:''' Shepard. We were making friendly wagers.
-->'''Tali:''' Optimistic wagers, in your case.
-->'''Garrus:''' A turian commando competing with a quarian mechanic, and I'm the optimistic one?
-->'''Tali:''' Remember [[TheVeryDefinitelyFinalDungeon Ilos?]]
-->'''Garrus:''' ...Yes. It was filled with geth, which tilted the odds in your favor.
-->'''Tali:''' Excuses, excuses.
-->'''Garrus:''' I doubt you'll be hacking any synthetics this time.
-->'''Tali:''' I seem to recall killing my fair share in the Collector base.
-->'''Garrus:''' I doubt we'll be in enormous rooms open to long-range fire this time, and...
-->'''Tali:''' I still have the shotgun.
-->'''Garrus:''' I'll be sure to let a few Reaper forces get close enough for you to use it.
-->'''Garrus:''' Shepard. We were making friendly wagers.
-->'''Tali:''' Optimistic wagers, in your case.
-->'''Garrus:''' A turian commando competing with a quarian mechanic, and I'm the optimistic one?
-->'''Tali:''' Remember [[TheVeryDefinitelyFinalDungeon Ilos?]]
-->'''Garrus:''' ...Yes. It was filled with geth, which tilted the odds in your favor.
-->'''Tali:''' Excuses, excuses.
-->'''Garrus:''' I doubt you'll be hacking any synthetics this time.
-->'''Tali:''' I seem to recall killing my fair share in the Collector base.
-->'''Garrus:''' I doubt we'll be in enormous rooms open to long-range fire this time, and...
-->'''Tali:''' I still have the shotgun.
-->'''Garrus:''' I'll be sure to let a few Reaper forces get close enough for you to use it.
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* ImprobableAge: As the description for her 'Quarian Machinist' power notes: "Though young, Tali is a true genius when it comes to dealing with mechanical and electronic equipment". Indeed, Tali is only 22 in the first game, and 25 by the third, yet she's one of the best engineers and hackers in the galaxy as well as a frontline combatant with a kill count possibly into the hundreds, and the recipient of "the best military training on the quarian fleet". This is quite insane when you remember that the average starting age for a Navy SEAL or Delta Force operator in RealLife is between 29 and 33, while the average mechanical engineer tends to start around 27 (and, you know, they're usually not both). [[spoiler: Gets taken UpToEleven in the third game, where she's a genius hacker, engineer, roboticist and OneManArmy who is also an ADMIRAL. At 25.]]
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* MinoredInAsskicking: She's most notable for her genius in electronics, hacking, and robotics, rather than her skill with a gun. Even in combat missions, most of her powers revolve around disabling enemy equipment (e.g. Overload/Energy Drain disables shields, Hacking/Sabotage turns robotic enemies against their masters) or deploying a AttackDrone to aid her (particularly in the third game, where the combat drone can be upgraded to [[MoreDakka fire rockets]] and can be deployed with an additional "DefenseDrone"). However, she still does have [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yk8_iHLSwMA&t=1m6s the best military training on the Migrant Fleet]], and is fully capable of slaughtering her way through mercenaries, geth, and Cerberus with a good shotgun and HandCannon.
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* [[OneManArmy One Woman Army:]] Implied to be this at a few points, believe it or not.
** She was running missions against the geth in the two-year time skip between the first and second games, and apparently did quite well. She's been promoted to the leader of a classified expedition by the time Shepard sees her. Additionally, the 'corpses' of the geth she sent back to her father only made up a small minority of all the geth she and the teams she was with killed, yet were enough to reconstruct at least a company of troops.
** Some of the ambient dialogue in her loyalty mission from random quarians includes lines such as "If anyone can take back the Alarei, Tali'Zorah can".
** See BodyCountCompetition. She's apparently competitive with Garrus, who's quite the OneManArmy himself. She even killed more geth than he did on Ilos.
** Of course, [[GameplayAndStoryIntegration in-game,]] she's also full capable of [[https://vid.me/DQCY cleaving through squads of elite commandos on her own.]]
** She was running missions against the geth in the two-year time skip between the first and second games, and apparently did quite well. She's been promoted to the leader of a classified expedition by the time Shepard sees her. Additionally, the 'corpses' of the geth she sent back to her father only made up a small minority of all the geth she and the teams she was with killed, yet were enough to reconstruct at least a company of troops.
** Some of the ambient dialogue in her loyalty mission from random quarians includes lines such as "If anyone can take back the Alarei, Tali'Zorah can".
** See BodyCountCompetition. She's apparently competitive with Garrus, who's quite the OneManArmy himself. She even killed more geth than he did on Ilos.
** Of course, [[GameplayAndStoryIntegration in-game,]] she's also full capable of [[https://vid.me/DQCY cleaving through squads of elite commandos on her own.]]
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* DudeMagnet: Almost as much as female Shepard, if you can believe that. [[spoiler: She's one of only two remaining squadmates to have a possible love interest ''other'' than Shepard (namely, Garrus), and she draws positive attention from Joker, Kenneth, and Kal'Reegar as well, and even Javik in a way]].
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* DudeMagnet: Almost as much as female Shepard, if you can believe that. [[spoiler: She's She can shack up with Commander Shepard, but in case she doesn't, she's also one of only two remaining squadmates to have a possible love interest ''other'' than Shepard (namely, Garrus), and she draws positive attention from Joker, Kenneth, and Kal'Reegar as well, and even Javik in a way]].way]].
-->'''Joker:''' Have you ''seen'' Tali? I don't have the hips to carry a suit like that!
** EvenTheGirlsWantHer: [[TheXenophile Kelly]] thinks her suit is beautiful and wonders what her skin feels like under it, Fem-Shep has the aforementioned LesYay moment with her, and Jack, if brought to the Citadel Party, has this to say about her:
-->'''Jack:''' You're ''adorable'' Tali. If I was little bit drunker and knew how to unzip that suit...
-->'''Joker:''' Have you ''seen'' Tali? I don't have the hips to carry a suit like that!
** EvenTheGirlsWantHer: [[TheXenophile Kelly]] thinks her suit is beautiful and wonders what her skin feels like under it, Fem-Shep has the aforementioned LesYay moment with her, and Jack, if brought to the Citadel Party, has this to say about her:
-->'''Jack:''' You're ''adorable'' Tali. If I was little bit drunker and knew how to unzip that suit...
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** She's also quite social, making fast friends with most of the crew. Even prejudiced characters like [[FantasticRacism Navigator Pressly and Ashley,]] as well as anti-social jerkasses like Javik and Jack, eventually take a liking to her.
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** The Citadel DLC implies she has one with Jack. They can be seen conversing relatively frequently, they dance next to each other in the 'wild' party, and Jack makes a (probably not serious) pass at her (see EvenTheGirlsWantHer, above). It makes some sense; they were on the same deck for most of the second game, and Tali is nice and genuine person in general, which was probably much appreciated by someone who's gone through the type of life Jack has. Finally, when Shepard asks about Tali's [[NoodleIncident tattoo]] at the party, she says she got it under Jack's recommendation. Or, more specifically, if Shepard romanced her, she says she got it because "Jack said you'd think it was hot".
-->'''Shepard:''' [[DeadpanSnarker Remind me to talk to Jack in the morning.]]
** The Normandy Crash DLC reveals that [[FantasticRacism Navigator Pressly]] came to consider her a friend.
-->'''Shepard:''' [[DeadpanSnarker Remind me to talk to Jack in the morning.]]
** The Normandy Crash DLC reveals that [[FantasticRacism Navigator Pressly]] came to consider her a friend.
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* MysteriousVeil: Her helmet and mask combo gives this impression, including giving us just a hint of her facial structure underneath.
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!Admiral Tali'Zorah nar Rayya [[spoiler:/vas Neema]] [[spoiler:/vas Normandy]]
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** [[spoiler:When the Admiralty Board accuses her of treason, they officially change her ship from the ''Neema'' to the ''Normandy'', in hopes of publicly ostracizing her from the fleet and under the impression that Shepard would do a substandard job of defending her]].
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** [[spoiler:When the Admiralty Board accuses her of treason, they officially change her ship from the ''Neema'' to the ''Normandy'', in hopes of publicly ostracizing her from the fleet and under the impression that Shepard would do a substandard job of defending her]].her. Someone honestly thought that appointing ''Commander Shepard'' her public defender was a sure way to get her exiled]].
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* YouKnowImBlackRight: When trying to motivate an injured krogan, ''Paragon'' Shepard can tell him he's not acting like a badass, but instead a quarian with a tummyache. To which Tali replies, "I'm standing right here!"
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* IDidWhatIHadTo: Like most quarians, she believes that her ancestors made the right decision to try and exterminate the geth, at first. But gets better about it in ME3.
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* IDidWhatIHadTo: IDidWhatIHadToDo: Like most quarians, she believes that her ancestors made the right decision to try and exterminate the geth, at first. But gets better about it in ME3.''[=ME3=]''.
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-->'''Tali:''' Well, I'm just going to sit here quietly til someone changes the subject.\\
'''Shepard:''' Awkward?\\
'''Tali:''' Awkward.
'''Shepard:''' Awkward?\\
'''Tali:''' Awkward.
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* IAteWhat: In one version of the party in the ''Citadel'' DLC, she poisons herself with cheese made for levo-chiral consumers. Though it was really a desperate attempt to ChangeTheUncomfortableSubject of EDI discussing Traynor's... [[LesYay desires]] [[ArousedByTheirVoice for EDI's voice.]]
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* IAteWhat: In [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H2Gsz7LyvtE one version of the party party]] in the ''Citadel'' DLC, she poisons herself with cheese made for levo-chiral consumers. Though it was really a desperate attempt to ChangeTheUncomfortableSubject of EDI discussing Traynor's... [[LesYay desires]] [[ArousedByTheirVoice for EDI's voice.]]
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* BoldlyComing: It seems that Tali is a xenophile at heart; she either can romance Male!Shep, shack up with Garrus if neither of them are romanced, fantasizes about a threesome with Fem!Shep and Romance!Garrus as evidenced above, and states that Fleet and Flotilla, a romance vid about a [[StarCrossedLovers turian man and quarian woman]] "jump-started her puberty" after roping a romanced Male!Shepard into watching the vid and singing.
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* BoldlyComing: It seems that Tali is a xenophile at heart; she either can romance Male!Shep, shack up with Garrus if neither of them are romanced, fantasizes about a threesome with Fem!Shep and Romance!Garrus as evidenced above, and states that Fleet and Flotilla, a romance vid about a [[StarCrossedLovers turian man and quarian woman]] "jump-started her "FTL-jumped [her] into puberty" after roping a romanced Male!Shepard into watching the vid and singing.
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!Admiral Tali'Zorah nar Rayya [[spoiler:/vas Neema/]] [[spoiler:vas Normandy]]
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!Admiral Tali'Zorah nar Rayya [[spoiler:/vas Neema/]] [[spoiler:vas Neema]] [[spoiler:/vas Normandy]]
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!Admiral Tali'Zorah nar Rayya[[spoiler:/vas Neema/]] [[spoiler:vas Normandy]]
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!Admiral Tali'Zorah nar Rayya[[spoiler:/vas Rayya [[spoiler:/vas Neema/]] [[spoiler:vas Normandy]]
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!Admiral Tali'Zorah nar Rayya/vas Neema/ vas Normandy
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!Admiral Tali'Zorah nar Rayya/vas Neema/ vas NormandyRayya[[spoiler:/vas Neema/]] [[spoiler:vas Normandy]]
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* NobleBigot: Make no mistake -- as selfless and heroic as Tali is, she ''hates'' synthetic lifeforms. And she's one of the more ''open-minded'' quarians. Of course, this is a JustifiedTrope given her situation. Her people were driven off their home planet and nearly annihilated by their own created AI race, and the geth later [[spoiler:kill her father as well]]. The fact that the quarians started it aside, Tali has more than a few reasons to be distrustful of if not hostile towards, say, [[spoiler:Legion]]. Later, thanks to CharacterDevelopment, the aforementioned open-mindedness pays off. [[spoiler: The player's choices can make her be more friendly to Legion, sparking a friendly NotSoDifferent situation in the third game to resolve the whole quarian/geth conflict. Doing so factors in to the potential for reconciliation between the geth and quarians]].
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* NobleBigot: Make no mistake -- as selfless and heroic as Tali is, she ''hates'' synthetic lifeforms. And she's one of the more ''open-minded'' quarians. Of course, this is a JustifiedTrope given her situation. Her people were driven off their home planet and nearly annihilated by their own created AI race, and the geth later [[spoiler:kill her father as well]]. The fact that the quarians started it aside, Tali has more than a [[TragicBigot few reasons to be distrustful of if not hostile hostile]] towards, say, [[spoiler:Legion]]. Later, thanks to CharacterDevelopment, the aforementioned open-mindedness pays off. [[spoiler: The player's choices can make her be more friendly to Legion, sparking a friendly NotSoDifferent situation in the third game to resolve the whole quarian/geth conflict. Doing so factors in to the potential for reconciliation between the geth and quarians]].
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* TragicBigot: She becomes this, even moreso than most quarians, after her Loyalty mission. It's easy to understand her hatred of the geth, and synthetics in general, after she fought to save the galaxy from them in the first game, and [[spoiler:''especially'' after her father is killed in the second. And yet, ''despite'' that, she still manages to overcome those feelings by the third game.]]
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![[spoiler:Admiral]] Tali'Zorah nar Rayya/vas Neema/ vas Normandy
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* TheUnreveal: Go ahead, romance her in ''2''. See how sadistic Bioware can be.
** Close-ups do give you some view of her eyes and nose behind the mask. She looks rather human.
** If you romance her in Mass Effect 3 you get [[http://masseffect.wikia.com/wiki/File:Taliface.png a photo of her unmasked]]. [[spoiler: She actually looks very close to human, with some dark lines along her neck and three-fingered hands. She even has human-like hair. But also glowing eyes. The dark lines are also not exclusive to the neck, she has some on her forehead too, linking to her eyebrows]].
** Close-ups do give you some view of her eyes and nose behind the mask. She looks rather human.
** If you romance her in Mass Effect 3 you get [[http://masseffect.wikia.com/wiki/File:Taliface.png a photo of her unmasked]]. [[spoiler: She actually looks very close to human, with some dark lines along her neck and three-fingered hands. She even has human-like hair. But also glowing eyes. The dark lines are also not exclusive to the neck, she has some on her forehead too, linking to her eyebrows]].
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![[spoiler:Admiral]] Tali'Zorah nar Rayya/vas Neema/[[spoiler:vas Normandy]]
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![[spoiler:Admiral]] Tali'Zorah nar Rayya/vas Neema/[[spoiler:vas Normandy]]Neema/ vas Normandy
* AuthorityEqualsAsskicking: Though only technically. She's an Admiral in the third game, but aside from making a few deals on the Citadel and voting against going to war with the geth, she doesn't really do any admiral stuff.
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** [[spoiler: AuthorityEqualsAsskicking: Though only technically. She's an Admiral in the third game, but aside from making a few deals on the Citadel and voting against going to war with the geth, she doesn't really do any admiral stuff]].
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* [[spoiler:[[ADateWithRosiePalms Nerve Stimulation Implants]]: It's revealed in the ''Lair of the Shadow Broker'' DLC that she had them, then removed and reinstalled the program multiple times before finally settling on the upgraded version]].
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* [[spoiler:[[ADateWithRosiePalms Nerve Stimulation Implants]]: ADateWithRosiePalms: It's revealed in the ''Lair of the Shadow Broker'' DLC that she had them, had Nerve Stimulation Implants, then removed and reinstalled the program multiple times before finally settling on the upgraded version]].version.
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* [[spoiler: DrivenToSuicide: In ''3'', if you can't get the geth and the quarians to work together, choosing the geth side means she has to watch the entire fleet (and with the Pilgrimage recalled, that includes every quarian that wasn't exiled who could make it) get blown out of the sky. She walks off a cliff to her death]].
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* [[spoiler: DrivenToSuicide: In ''3'', if you can't get the geth and the quarians to work together, choosing the geth side means she has to watch the entire fleet (and with the Pilgrimage recalled, that includes every quarian that wasn't exiled who could make it) get blown out of the sky. She walks off a cliff to her death]].death.
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* [[spoiler: TheExile:]] In ''VideoGame/MassEffect2'', [[spoiler: one possible outcome of her loyalty mission is that she can be permanently exiled from the Migrant Fleet. But she still has a home on the ''Normandy'']].
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* [[spoiler: TheExile:]] TheExile: In ''VideoGame/MassEffect2'', [[spoiler: one possible outcome of her loyalty mission is that she can be permanently exiled from the Migrant Fleet. But she still has a home on the ''Normandy'']].
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* [[spoiler:FourStarBadass: If she's exonerated in her trial in Mass Effect 2, the other admirals elect to have her fill her deceased father's vacant position]].
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* [[spoiler:FourStarBadass: FourStarBadass: If she's exonerated in her trial in Mass Effect 2, the other admirals elect to have her fill her deceased father's vacant position]].position.
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** AscendedMeme: Became one in-universe as well, by ''2'' and ''3''.
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* HotGypsyWoman[=/=]MatzoFever: Depending on whether you consider the Quarians as a FantasyCounterpartCulture to Roma, or to Jewish people.
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* [[spoiler:MadScientistsBeautifulDaughter]]: A literal example, even if she isn't evil at all. [[spoiler:Rael's experiments]] are morally questionable at best, and beyond the MoralEventHorizon to some.
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* [[spoiler:MadScientistsBeautifulDaughter]]: MadScientistsBeautifulDaughter: A literal example, even if she isn't evil at all. [[spoiler:Rael's experiments]] are morally questionable at best, and beyond the MoralEventHorizon to some.
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* [[spoiler:PairTheSpares: If your Male Shepard does not romance Tali in Mass Effect 3, she will end up with Garrus]].
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* [[spoiler:PairTheSpares: PairTheSpares: If your Male Shepard does not romance Tali in Mass Effect 3, she will end up with Garrus]].Garrus.
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* [[spoiler:PlotlineDeath: Can suffer this in ''[=ME2=]'', at which point she does not appear in ''[=ME3=]''. Can also suffer this in ''[=ME3=]'', depending on your choices during the re-ignited quarian/geth war.]]
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* [[spoiler:PlotlineDeath: PlotlineDeath: Can suffer this in ''[=ME2=]'', at which point she does not appear in ''[=ME3=]''. Can also suffer this in ''[=ME3=]'', depending on your choices during the re-ignited quarian/geth war.]]
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* [[spoiler: ReasonableAuthorityFigure: Technically becomes this in ''Mass Effect 3'', even if her position as an Admiral is mostly ceremonial. She's still very helpful if you want to broker peace between the quarians and geth]].
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* [[spoiler: ReasonableAuthorityFigure: Technically becomes this in ''Mass Effect 3'', even if her position as an Admiral is mostly ceremonial. She's still very helpful if you want to broker peace between the quarians and geth]].geth.
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* [[SquishyWizard Squishy Technician]]: Her tech powers can be incredibly useful when trying to mezz enemies, especially when dealing with synthetics, but her physical durability is pretty poor, due in part to the general fragility of her suit and (in [=ME1=] at least) the rarity of her armor upgrades. In ''VideoGame/MassEffect1'' this is balanced out by pouring points into her Electronics skill and her "Quarian Machinist" Class skill, which increases her shields to the point where she can survive pretty much the whole game with the same suit she started with; in the later games, she's a bit more durable in general and gets a loyalty power that drains enemies' shields or synthetics' health and replenishes (or even overcharges) her own shields.
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* [[SquishyWizard Squishy Technician]]: SquishyWizard: Her tech powers can be incredibly useful when trying to mezz enemies, especially when dealing with synthetics, but her physical durability is pretty poor, due in part to the general fragility of her suit and (in [=ME1=] at least) the rarity of her armor upgrades. In ''VideoGame/MassEffect1'' this is balanced out by pouring points into her Electronics skill and her "Quarian Machinist" Class skill, which increases her shields to the point where she can survive pretty much the whole game with the same suit she started with; in the later games, she's a bit more durable in general and gets a loyalty power that drains enemies' shields or synthetics' health and replenishes (or even overcharges) her own shields.
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* [[WhatWouldXDo What Would Shepard Do?]]:
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* [[WhatWouldXDo What Would Shepard Do?]]:WhatWouldXDo:
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* {{Ambadassador}}: [[spoiler: Seems to be her ''de facto'' position on the Admiralty Board. Having her be an admiral is required to get the peaceful ending to the Rannoch quest line, and on one occasion she is seen negotiating with a turian to arrange the Migrant Fleet's evacuation of turian refugees]].
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* {{Badass}}
** BadassAdorable: She can fight her way through hundreds of geth without breaking a sweat and yet she stammers when you romance her. She also names her combat drones and praises them for doing a good job of killing things.
*** [[spoiler: The ''Citadel DLC'' reveals that several of her lines from her romance arc in ''2'' were borrowed from ''Fleet and Flotilla'', her favourite film/musical. Given her Shadow Broker dossier mentioned her downloading it (as well as several other books about human interaction), it's implied she used it to give her the confidence to articulate how she felt]].
** BadassBookworm: Being a quarian, she is ''required'' to know about advanced subjects like starship engineering. And even among quarians she is considered an expert, even ''before'' she finishes her Pilgrimage after the first game.
** [[spoiler:FourStarBadass: If she's exonerated in her trial in Mass Effect 2, the other admirals elect to have her fill her deceased father's vacant position]].
** BadassAdorable: She can fight her way through hundreds of geth without breaking a sweat and yet she stammers when you romance her. She also names her combat drones and praises them for doing a good job of killing things.
*** [[spoiler: The ''Citadel DLC'' reveals that several of her lines from her romance arc in ''2'' were borrowed from ''Fleet and Flotilla'', her favourite film/musical. Given her Shadow Broker dossier mentioned her downloading it (as well as several other books about human interaction), it's implied she used it to give her the confidence to articulate how she felt]].
** BadassBookworm: Being a quarian, she is ''required'' to know about advanced subjects like starship engineering. And even among quarians she is considered an expert, even ''before'' she finishes her Pilgrimage after the first game.
** [[spoiler:FourStarBadass: If she's exonerated in her trial in Mass Effect 2, the other admirals elect to have her fill her deceased father's vacant position]].
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* {{Badass}}
**BadassAdorable: She can fight her way through hundreds of geth without breaking a sweat and yet she stammers when you romance her. She also names her combat drones and praises them for doing a good job of killing things.
*** ** [[spoiler: The ''Citadel DLC'' reveals that several of her lines from her romance arc in ''2'' were borrowed from ''Fleet and Flotilla'', her favourite film/musical. Given her Shadow Broker dossier mentioned her downloading it (as well as several other books about human interaction), it's implied she used it to give her the confidence to articulate how she felt]].
** * BadassBookworm: Being a quarian, she is ''required'' to know about advanced subjects like starship engineering. And even among quarians she is considered an expert, even ''before'' she finishes her Pilgrimage after the first game.
** [[spoiler:FourStarBadass: If she's exonerated in her trial in Mass Effect 2, the other admirals elect to have her fill her deceased father's vacant position]].game.
**
** [[spoiler:FourStarBadass: If she's exonerated in her trial in Mass Effect 2, the other admirals elect to have her fill her deceased father's vacant position]].
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*** [[spoiler: AsskickingEqualsAuthority: The reason she's promoted to the position of Admiral is because she knows more about kicking geth ass than any other living quarian]].
*** {{Ambadassador}}: [[spoiler: Seems to be her ''de facto'' position on the Admiralty Board. Having her be an admiral is required to get the peaceful ending to the Rannoch quest line, and on one occasion she is seen negotiating with a turian to arrange the Migrant Fleet's evacuation of turian refugees]].
*** {{Ambadassador}}: [[spoiler: Seems to be her ''de facto'' position on the Admiralty Board. Having her be an admiral is required to get the peaceful ending to the Rannoch quest line, and on one occasion she is seen negotiating with a turian to arrange the Migrant Fleet's evacuation of turian refugees]].
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* [[spoiler: FourStarBadass: Admiral, to be exact, in Mass Effect 3]].
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* [[spoiler: FourStarBadass: Admiral, to be exact, [[spoiler:FourStarBadass: If she's exonerated in her trial in Mass Effect 3]].2, the other admirals elect to have her fill her deceased father's vacant position]].
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* IDidWhatIHadTo: Like most quarians, she believes that her ancestors made the right decision to try and exterminate the geth, at first. But gets better about it in ME3.
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* BoldlyComing: It seems that Tali is a xenophile at heart; she either can romance Male!Shep, shack up with Garrus if neither of them are romanced, is interested in a threesome with Fem!Shep and Romance!Garrus as evidenced above, and states that Fleet and Flotilla, a romance vid about a [[StarCrossedLovers turian man and quarian woman]] "jump-started her puberty" after roping a romanced Male!Shepard into watching the vid and singing.
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* BoldlyComing: It seems that Tali is a xenophile at heart; she either can romance Male!Shep, shack up with Garrus if neither of them are romanced, is interested in fantasizes about a threesome with Fem!Shep and Romance!Garrus as evidenced above, and states that Fleet and Flotilla, a romance vid about a [[StarCrossedLovers turian man and quarian woman]] "jump-started her puberty" after roping a romanced Male!Shepard into watching the vid and singing.
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![[spoiler:Admiral]] Tali'Zorah nar Rayya/vas Neema/[[spoiler:vas Normandy]]
[[quoteright:330:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Tali_6115.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:330:I [[MemeticMutation have a]] [[BadassAdorable shotgun.]]]]
-->''"Our Pilgrimage proves we are willing to give of ourselves for the greater good. What does it say about me if I turn my back on this?"''
-->'''Voiced by:''' Ash Sroka (credited as Liz Sroka in 1 and 2)
A quarian machinist who specializes in technology and is traveling on her pilgrimage to find technology or resources valuable to the quarian Migrant Fleet. Joins Shepard's team for protection when she finds information incriminating Saren, and remains both out of gratitude and to help bring down Saren. She is a party member in all three games, as well as a romance option in [=ME2=].
----
* ActionGirl: She doesn't hesitate to get into a scrap.
* {{Adorkable}}:
** Particularly when you romance her.
--->'''Shepard:''' I trust you too, Tali, but you don't have to prove anything to me.\\
'''Tali:''' I know... well, no, not that I know... it's just that... well... it's not normally like this... I mean, wow... when did it get so hot in here?
** If romanced in ''Mass Effect 2'', she becomes more confident in her relationship with Shepard in ''Mass Effect 3''.
** Though this trait comes back in her romance in the ''Citadel'' DLC, where she acts like a giddy schoolgirl when recalling her childhood memories of watching "Fleet and Flotilla". She even sings Shepard one of the songs from the musical version. Which just so happens to be the [[RealSongThemeTune romance theme of the game]] ("I Was Lost Without You").
* AffectionateNickname:
** [[TheNicknamer James]] nicknames her 'Sparks' in ''3''.
--->'''James:''' Yeah, your quarian friend. The jumpy one with the glowing eyes? Sparks. \\
'''Shepard:''' Uh-huh.
** A male Shepard who romances her calls her "[[spoiler:miss vas Normandy]]." Joker quips that, every time he hears Shepard call her that, he expects her to be [[BeautyContest wearing a sash and tiara]].
* ApologeticAttacker: [[spoiler: She ''really'' doesn't want to kill Legion, and tells it before it dies that yes, it really does have a soul. She then mourns him later]].
* AppropriatedAppellation: During her loyalty quest [[spoiler: the Admiralty board (specifically Zaal'Koris) has Tali's ship name changed from "vas Neema" to "vas Normandy," in the belief that being associated with a human ship (and having a human captain represent her instead of a quarian) would hurt her chances of avoiding exile. After you earn Tali's loyalty (especially if you proved the admirals wrong and got Tali acquitted without the evidence), she decides to let the name stick]].
* AttackDrone: She can deploy two at a time in VideoGame/MassEffect3. One guards her personally, while the other floats around the the area, distracting enemies and bombarding them with rockets. While she can't summon more than two at a time, she can almost instantly replace them when they're destroyed. She could only deploy one in VideoGame/MassEffect2, which was so much weaker that a better name for it would be "Distraction Drone". At least ''that'' one had a name.
* {{Badass}}
** BadassAdorable: She can fight her way through hundreds of geth without breaking a sweat and yet she stammers when you romance her. She also names her combat drones and praises them for doing a good job of killing things.
*** [[spoiler: The ''Citadel DLC'' reveals that several of her lines from her romance arc in ''2'' were borrowed from ''Fleet and Flotilla'', her favourite film/musical. Given her Shadow Broker dossier mentioned her downloading it (as well as several other books about human interaction), it's implied she used it to give her the confidence to articulate how she felt]].
** BadassBookworm: Being a quarian, she is ''required'' to know about advanced subjects like starship engineering. And even among quarians she is considered an expert, even ''before'' she finishes her Pilgrimage after the first game.
** [[spoiler:FourStarBadass: If she's exonerated in her trial in Mass Effect 2, the other admirals elect to have her fill her deceased father's vacant position]].
** [[spoiler: AuthorityEqualsAsskicking: Though only technically. She's an Admiral in the third game, but aside from making a few deals on the Citadel and voting against going to war with the geth, she doesn't really do any admiral stuff]].
*** [[spoiler: AsskickingEqualsAuthority: The reason she's promoted to the position of Admiral is because she knows more about kicking geth ass than any other living quarian]].
*** {{Ambadassador}}: [[spoiler: Seems to be her ''de facto'' position on the Admiralty Board. Having her be an admiral is required to get the peaceful ending to the Rannoch quest line, and on one occasion she is seen negotiating with a turian to arrange the Migrant Fleet's evacuation of turian refugees]].
* BattleCouple: With Shepard if romanced.
* BecauseYouWereNiceToMe: Part of the reason she has such UndyingLoyalty to Shepard. Until she met them, everyone she encountered on her Pilgrimage treated her like a second class citizen, a beggar or thief, simply because she was ''[[FantasticRacism quarian]]''. Shepard was the first person to treat her like an actual ''person'', offer her a place on their crew and make her feel truly accepted.
** It goes beyond this during ''2'', when it's shown that she believes that Shepard, a human, has been a better friend to her than any quarian ever has. It's notable that despite having "vas Normandy" shoved on her as a political play, if exonerated, she decides to keep the name.
* BewareTheNiceOnes:
** Tali is right up there with Kaidan in the sheer niceness department. That doesn't change the fact that she is a ''monster'' with a shotgun, can easily lock down most enemies, and can potentially have the strongest shields in your entire party even without upgrades. And when provoked, she can get both vicious and creative.
--->'''Tali''' (after being told by Shepard to not lose sleep over a volus who is racist against quarians): My brain agrees with you. My gut says I should jack his suit's olfactory filters so that everything smells like refuse!\\
'''Garrus:''' Remind me not to get on your bad side.
** In ''Mass Effect 3'', her response to [[spoiler: viewing the Illusive Man's plan to emotionally manipulate a vulnerable Shepard (after being resurrected by the Lazarus Project, and being cut off from all his friends and allies) into working with Cerberus]] shows she can be quite frightening when she is well and truly angry.
--->'''Tali''': [[TranquilFury He needs to die.]]
** How she shuts up Garrus pestering her about talking about her [[IllGirl immune system]] on the Citadel in ''2''.
---> '''Tali''': I have a ''shotgun''.\\
'''Garrus''': Mmmmmaybe we'll talk later.
* BigBrotherInstinct: Seems to invoke this in a Paragon Shepard. If you threaten Tali, Shepard ''will'' come after you. Tali's trial in ''2'' has Shepard actually ''berate'' the quarian Admiralty for even ''daring'' to accuse her of treason, which results in Shepard becoming so ''furious'' that the quarian Admirals meekly decide to drop all charges against her.
* BigRedButton: Though one doesn't really show up, [[LampshadeHanging she still points out the inadvisability of pushing them]].
* BiTheWay: During the Citadel DLC, if Garrus is romanced by Fem!Shep, depending on how the party goes, she can be found drunk and talking to herself in a pretend conversation with him, in which the possibility of a threesome intrigues her. PlayedForLaughs, but considering how flustered she got around Fem!Shep in the second game during that suit-linking conversation...
* BoldlyComing: It seems that Tali is a xenophile at heart; she either can romance Male!Shep, shack up with Garrus if neither of them are romanced, is interested in a threesome with Fem!Shep and Romance!Garrus as evidenced above, and states that Fleet and Flotilla, a romance vid about a [[StarCrossedLovers turian man and quarian woman]] "jump-started her puberty" after roping a romanced Male!Shepard into watching the vid and singing.
** Her Shadow Broker dossier in ''2'' lists more than a few purchases of books on human-alien interactions.
* BizarreAlienBiology: Quarians are one of only two species (the other being turians) that have a [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chirality_%28chemistry%29 dextro-amino acid based biology]]. As such, they can't consume any food or drink made for levo-amino acid physiologies (humans, asari, salarian, krogan, etc.) without, at the least, not getting any nourishment from it; or at the most, having a fatal allergic reaction. Also, the quarian immune system evolved to absorb and form symbiosis with micro-organisms, apparently a result of insect life never evolving on their planet; this makes them extremely vulnerable to infections, especially given they've been forced to live in totally sterile environments for centuries now. Javik even theorizes that this may have had a side effect of making her species more sympathetic to the plights of others.
* BreakoutCharacter: Like Garrus, her plot relevance surged up like crazy from the second game on, even becoming a LoveInterest.
* BreakTheCutie: She suffers an emotional breakdown while investigating her trial. You can potentially give her comfort by hugging her. [[spoiler: Or you can make it worse by handing over the incriminating evidence during her trial. Doing this will turn her father into a monster in the eyes of the quarian people and cost you her loyalty, most likely causing her death]].
** [[spoiler:Let the geth destroy the quarians in the third game. She commits suicide. Even if the geth and quarians make peace, she mourns everyone who died. Including Legion, to her own astonishment]].
* [[BubbleBoy Bubble Girl]]: Comes from a race of them. Their weak immune systems force them to live in their environmental suits constantly. As a bonus, prepubescent quarians actually ''do'' live in bubbles; getting their first suit is considered a rite of passage.
* ButIWouldReallyEnjoyIt: Tali is initially reluctant to sleep with Shepard, because their mutually [[BizarreAlienBiology bizarre alien biologies]] would result in anything from allergic reaction, to drastic illness, to death for her. She ''assures'' you that this does not coincide with her desires.
-->'''Tali:''' Just so you know, I'm running a fever, I've got a nasty cough, and my sinuses are filled with something I can't even describe. And it was totally '''{{worth it}}'''.
* CantHaveSexEver: She works ''hard'' to subvert this. [[spoiler: Her Shadow Broker dossier reveals she once had [[ADateWithRosiePalms "nerve stimulation" implants]], had them removed/turned off/reinstalled, and then finally had it installed and upgraded]].
** Assuming you romanced her, this is no longer a problem by the third game. Her body's immune system has adapted enough that she can have sex with Shepard safely.
* [[CantHoldHisLiquor Can't Hold Her Liquor]]: After the Horizon mission in ''3'', you can find her in the ''Normandy'' lounge getting hammered. Then if you go down to the cargo bay to talk to Javik, you walk in on her drunk-dialing him. Happens again in the Citadel DLC -- she gets drunk the quickest and is always one of the most hungover. If you opt to start the party lively, she is already slurring her speech, has to go to the bathroom, and has AlcoholHic issues at the outset. If the party is in one of the third phase quiet paths, she's in the restroom mumbling semi-coherently in a stupor.
* CharacterDevelopment: Tali is more mature in the later games. The way she advocates geth/quarian peace in the third game speaks volumes when the first encounter she has with an AI in the series (the credit-scamming machine) was to demand Shepard kill it ''on principle.'' Also, see VocalEvolution.
* CharacterTic: Tali frequently holds her hands together and bounces on her heels when she's nervous.
* ChekhovsGun: You know that knife strapped to her boot that we never see her using? It can come up in one very important moment in ''3'' -- [[spoiler: stabbing Legion if you pick the quarians over the geth]].
* ClingyCostume: Like all quarians.
* TheConscience: Acts as one of the voices of reason on the ''Normandy''... [[FantasticRacism except on the topic]] of ArtificialIntelligence.
* ColorCodedForYourConvenience: Her Combat Drone in the second game is purple, in contrast to the red and blue ones used by enemy engineers and Legion respectively. In the third game, the color of her drone is changed to orange.
* CooldownHug: [[VideoGameCaringPotential Shepard has the option of giving this to her after]] [[spoiler: she finds her father's dead body]].
* CovertPervert: It's fairly obvious during the second game that Tali has secretly lusted after male Shepard since practically day one. And the second he shows ''any'' romantic interest in her, the first thing she makes clear is that she wants him to do the honors, so to speak.
** The Shadow Broker Dossiers further show that, after being authorized for Project Haestrom (shortly before the ME2's beginning), she installed several apps. These include videos dealing with loss, but eventually lead to apps on human mating rituals, Immuno-Boosters (for [[DoubleEntendre professionals]]) and several [[ADateWithRosiePalms Nerve Stims]].
** The Citadel DLC shows how horrible Tali is when she's drunk. Depending on your relationships with her and Garrus, she'll be fantasizing about Shepard or Garrus getting hot and heavy with her. If, as Fem!Shep, you romanced Garrus, she'll be fantasizing about [[ThreesomeSubtext all three of you together]].
* CurtainsMatchTheWindow: A rather more literal example than most, both her visor and hood being purple in color.
** [[spoiler: Subverted when a picture of her without a suit is shown in the third game. Although her hair '''could''' be a deep shade of purple, matching her choice in clothing. It's... [[LensFlare kinda hard to tell]]]].
* [[spoiler:[[ADateWithRosiePalms Nerve Stimulation Implants]]: It's revealed in the ''Lair of the Shadow Broker'' DLC that she had them, then removed and reinstalled the program multiple times before finally settling on the upgraded version]].
* DeadpanSnarker: To wit:
-->'''Tali:''' ''[to Garrus]'' I'm glad the imminent destruction of all organic life has improved your career opportunities.\\
\\
'''Tali:''' ''[to Shepard]'' What could I possibly be suggesting? I mean, a young woman gets saved by a dashing commander who lets her join his crew and then goes off to save the galaxy? [[LampshadeHanging How could she possibly develop any interest in him?]]\\
\\
'''Shepard:''' I'm not working for [Cerberus], they're working for me.\\
'''Tali:''' So ''you'' ordered the listening devices and tracking beacons that are all over this ship?
* DeathGlare: In her post-recruitment scene in the second game, Tali manages to throw a ''withering'' DeathGlare at Jacob during her briefing on the ''Normandy''. Through an ''opaque helmet'', which somehow makes it even more menacing.
* DiggingYourselfDeeper:
** Gets flustered and does this after accidentally revealing her attraction to Shepard in the second game.
** Alternately, if neither she nor Garrus is romanced by Shepard, this is her reaction when [[spoiler:Shepard walks in on her and Garrus together...]]
* [[spoiler: DrivenToSuicide: In ''3'', if you can't get the geth and the quarians to work together, choosing the geth side means she has to watch the entire fleet (and with the Pilgrimage recalled, that includes every quarian that wasn't exiled who could make it) get blown out of the sky. She walks off a cliff to her death]].
* DiscOneNuke: In the first game, she was a ridiculously durable death machine with maxed out Electronics and "Quarian Machinist", which raised her shields to very high levels, and in the former's case let her sap the shields off any enemy in one go. It was very easy to max out both those skills very early in the game.
* DrowningMySorrows: She resorts to this once or twice during the third game. It takes triple-filtered turian brandy introduced through an "emergency induction port".
--> '''Shepard:''' That's a straw, Tali. \\
'''Tali:''' [[SesquipedalianLoquaciousness Emerrrrrrgency.]] [[InsistentTerminology Induction.]] [[SugarWiki/FunnyMoments Port.]]
* DudeMagnet: Almost as much as female Shepard, if you can believe that. [[spoiler: She's one of only two remaining squadmates to have a possible love interest ''other'' than Shepard (namely, Garrus), and she draws positive attention from Joker, Kenneth, and Kal'Reegar as well, and even Javik in a way]].
* TheEngineer: In the first game, Chief Engineer Adams is impressed with her skill. In the second, she gets automatically promoted to chief engineer herself as soon as she's recruited.
** In the third game, with the return of Chief Engineer Adams, she unofficially becomes Second Engineer and acts as his Relief. Adams comments that its good to have her back as she clearly knows the new ''Normandy's'' engines better than he does. Even Joker says that the ''Normandy'' doesn't seem to be running right without her handling the engines.
* EnemyMine:
** What she sees working with Legion as, until the end of the second game, where she stays in touch with it until the geth are upgraded by the Reapers.
** She also hates Cerberus and makes it clear that she's only there [[UndyingLoyalty because Shepard is.]]
---> '''Tali:''' I thought you were undercover, Shepard. Maybe even planning to blow Cerberus up. If that's the case, I'll loan you a grenade. Otherwise, I'm here for you, not for them.
* EstablishingCharacterMoment: When Fist's men start pulling guns during their meeting with her, she hits two of them with a grenade (destroying their shields and knocking them down), rushes to cover, and pulls out her pistol. If you wait a few seconds to intervene after the gameplay starts, she then guns one or two of the assassins down. After Shepard kills the remaining assassins, she thanks Shepard for the help, and tells him/her about how she obtained the data proving Saren is a traitor by disabling and then hacking information from a geth platform to Shepard's shock, as s/he thought such a thing was impossible.
* EveryoneCanSeeIt: Her feelings for Male Shep. Kelly, Kasumi, Liara, and Javik can all comment on it. Liara, in ''Lair of the Shadow Broker'', suggests she knew about Tali's feelings as early as the first game. Kaidan and Ashley's complete lack of surprise when they hear Shepard and Tali dropping innuendos at each other during a mission suggest they did too.
* [[spoiler: TheExile:]] In ''VideoGame/MassEffect2'', [[spoiler: one possible outcome of her loyalty mission is that she can be permanently exiled from the Migrant Fleet. But she still has a home on the ''Normandy'']].
* {{Expy}}: Of Aerie, the BrokenBird elf maiden from ''VideoGame/BaldursGateII'', as evidenced by her naming her combat drone Chikktika vas Paus, a reference to Aerie's oft-spoken phrase "Faster than Chitika Fastpaws!"
* FacePalm: Well, ''Face Plate Palm''. Tali does this a few times.
-->'''Tali:''' ''(when Shepard asks about "vas Qwib-Qwib")'' Oh, boy. Here we go.
* TheFaceless: Justified. Her species has a weak immune system that means she must wear a special suit at all times. [[spoiler:In third game, if romanced by a male Shepard, she leaves a picture of her in his cabin]].
** [[spoiler: Due to laziness on Bioware and EA's part, the picture is actually an edited version of a stock photo from Getty Images. Link: http://gamerant.com/mass-effect-3-tali-spoiler-unmasked-image-benk-137322/]]
* FantasticRacism: Sometimes slips into this, the geth having become a major BerserkButton for the quarians.
* [[spoiler: FourStarBadass: Admiral, to be exact, in Mass Effect 3]].
* GadgeteerGenius: The quarians' [[PlanetOfHats hat]], but Tali is especially so.
--> '''Tali''': Please, Shepard, I'm a quarian! Give me a hunk of scrap metal, a circuit board, and some element zero, and I'll have it making precision jumps!
* GreenSkinnedSpaceBabe: [[spoiler:You finally get to see Tali sans suit in VideoGame/MassEffect3 if you romance her ''and'' help the quarians reclaim their homeworld. Although her skin color isn't definitively green]].
* GetARoom: If previously romanced and then continued in ''3'', Tali and male Shepard flirt constantly throughout the Geth Dreadnought mission. If brought along as the third squadmate, Garrus ends up snarkily invoking this.
* GoodPeopleHaveGoodSex: If romanced by Paragon Shepard. It's a wonder half the ship [[TheImmodestOrgasm can't hear them.]]
* GlowingEyes: Like all quarian they become visible through her faceplate in ''Mass Effect 2'' and ''3''. Weirdly, not seen [[spoiler: in the picture of herself she leaves on Shepard's nightstand in 3]].
* HackYourEnemy: See "Set a Mook to Kill a Mook".
* {{Handgun}}: Along with shotguns, her main weapon type in all three games.
* HartmanHips: The mandatory mentioning of them along with the character is virtually a meme. Joker even snarks about it when James suggests that he get suited like a quarian to help with his disability:
--> '''Joker:''' Have you seen Tali? I don't have the hips to carry a suit like that.
** AscendedMeme: Became one in-universe as well, by ''2'' and ''3''.
* HeterosexualLifePartners: With female Shepard.
* HoldingHands: Part of her romance path with Shepard.
* HotGypsyWoman[=/=]MatzoFever: Depending on whether you consider the Quarians as a FantasyCounterpartCulture to Roma, or to Jewish people.
* IAteWhat: In one version of the party in the ''Citadel'' DLC, she poisons herself with cheese made for levo-chiral consumers. Though it was really a desperate attempt to ChangeTheUncomfortableSubject of EDI discussing Traynor's... [[LesYay desires]] [[ArousedByTheirVoice for EDI's voice.]]
* ICallItVera: [[ShoutOut Chikktika]] [[VideoGame/BaldursGate vas Paus]], her combat drone. Her drones in the third game no longer have names, unfortunately. However, Chikktika is still mentioned at least once in the Citadel DLC, particularly on calling out Glyph's apparent incompetence at tracking down [[spoiler:the clone]].
* ICantBelieveAGuyLikeYouWouldNoticeMe: Her reaction if Shepard expresses interest in a romantic relationship. Tali had actually been in love with Shepard since the first game, but assumed that he would never see past her helmet and see her for her.
--> '''Tali:''' I've watched you for so long. And yet I never thought you'd ever see past... ''[gestures at her helmet]'' this.
* IfYouEverDoAnythingToHurtHer:
** An [[SesquipedalianLoquaciousness exorbitantly worded]] email from her father, but this is the general gist of its contents. It's a real shame you can't show it to Tali.
** A more mild example with Kasumi after the night alone with Tali:
---> '''Kasumi:''' Tali is so cute. You're all she talks about, in that rainbows-and-butterflies kind of way. She loves you, Shepard. Be good to her.
* IllGirl: Something of a RunningGag concerning her; she finds the perception irksome.
* TheImmodestOrgasm:
** In the third game, a quick dialogue with a romanced male Shepard seems to poke fun at this.
---> '''Tali''': It's good to be back on the ''Normandy''.\\
'''Shepard''': Let me know if it's too quiet for you to sleep. I'm sure I can find you [[DoubleEntendre someplace louder.]]\\
'''Tali''': [[CovertPervert Hmm...]]
* ImStandingRightHere: She finds herself saying this from time to time. Even once to Shepard. Case in point: this conversation if she accompanies Shepard and Mordin on the latter's loyalty mission:
-->'''Shepard''': ''[riling up a sick krogan]'' I said a badass, not a sick scout whining like a quarian with a tummy-ache!\\
'''Tali''': I'm standing right here!
* InfoDump: Unlike the other alien teammates in ''VideoGame/MassEffect'', whose species' backstories are revealed through multiple conversations, other alien NonPlayerCharacters, and [[ProjectedMan Avina]], Tali dumps pretty much everything you need to know about the quarians in your first and ''very'' long conversation with her on the ''Normandy''. This is likely because she's the only quarian character in the entire first ''VideoGame/MassEffect'' game.
* InsecureLoveInterest: Fits this trope like a glove during her romance. Averted in the third game.
* InsistentTerminology: Falls into this when drunk on turian brandy.
--> '''Tali''': Turian brandy, triple filtered and introduced into the suit through an emergency induction port.\\
'''Shepard''': Thats a ''straw'', Tali.\\
'''Tali''': Emmeeerrrgency [[MemeticMutation induction]] [[SugarWiki/FunnyMoments port.]]
* InterspeciesRomance: Her favourite movie (or "vid" as its called in-universe) is ''Fleet and Flotilla'', a film about an interspecies romance between a turian and quarian. Dialogue from ''Citadel'' implies that Tali is into aliens. Also, she can end up with either Male!Shepard or [[spoiler:Garrus]] depending on whom the player decides Shepard to romance. Both potential men she ends up with can be considered aliens.
* InTheBack: [[spoiler: She'll be forced to kill Legion this way if you're unable to broker peace between the quarians and geth and choose not to let Legion upload the Reaper code]].
* ItsQuietTooQuiet: At first, she has trouble sleeping on the ''Normandy'' because the ship is so quiet. She's used to the ships in the Migrant Fleet, which are frequently bought used or are remnants from the geth uprising, and which make a ''lot'' of noise. A quiet quarian ship is typically [[OhCrap a bad sign]].
** Reversed in the second game, where she's used to it and the clamor of the Migrant Fleet is distracting to her.
** And of course there's the CallBack to this in the flirting in the third game.
* IWantMyBelovedToBeHappy: [[TearJerker She initially refuses Shepard's advances because she believes that he'll be hurt by their relationship.]]
** Which is made all the worse [[spoiler: [[DownerEnding at the end of ME3, if the Destroy option isn't taken]]]].
** She also doesn't hold it against you if you break up with her in favor of your ''[=ME1=]'' love interest, saying earnestly that she hopes you two are happy together.
* JustFriends: [[ReVision Retroactively with male!Shep from the first game.]]
* LatexSpaceSuit:
-->'''Ken:''' ''[to Gabby]'' Don't get me wrong, it's a beautiful bucket.. The whole suit is lovely, quite snug in all the right places...\\
'''Tali:''' You ''know'' [[ImStandingRightHere I can hear you]]!
* LostForever: Like Garrus, link up with her in ''2'' or forever hold your peace.
* TheKnightsWhoSaySquee: Towards Shepard. Upped in the later games. [[UpToEleven BIG time.]]
* [[spoiler:MadScientistsBeautifulDaughter]]: A literal example, even if she isn't evil at all. [[spoiler:Rael's experiments]] are morally questionable at best, and beyond the MoralEventHorizon to some.
* MamaBear: Even for a quarian, Tali is ''very'' dedicated to protecting the Migrant Fleet.
** Remarked upon in the second game. During her trial, various members of the crew of the ''Rayya'' are impressed that, despite being accused of treason and threatened with the possibility of exile, Tali's first thought was to safeguard the Fleet by embarking on a highly dangerous mission to secure the ''Alarei'' and eliminate the geth onboard.
** One of the reasons why she's reluctant to act on her feelings for male Shepard is that she's afraid of jeopardizing his mission by risking her health in pursuit of being with him. Shepard can then convince her that she's always been generous to a fault, and that just once, she should pursue her own happiness.
* MeaningfulRename: Despite the fact that "vas Normandy" is shoved onto her without her consent for political reasons, if she is exonerated, she still decides to keep her name as Tali'Zorah vas Normandy indicating her absolute loyalty and friendship with Shepard over any quarians.
* MildlyMilitary: She received military training on the Migrant Fleet and participates in military operations for the Admiralty Board in ''2'', but she's never identified by a rank and doesn't wear a uniform like the other Migrant Fleet Marines. She's also able to leave and join a renegade Spectre on a suicide mission simply by asking. [[spoiler: In ''3'', she actually does get an official military rank as an Admiral, but she says that she doesn't actually do any military commanding. She does, however, serve as an ambassador (to both the geth and the Citadel races) and a front line combatant]].
* MilitaryBrat: Due to her father being an Admiral in the quarian Fleet, Tali never saw much of him growing up. At the very least, she got the best military training in the Fleet, which explains her proficiency with a shotgun.
* MilitaryMaverick: [[spoiler: Has shades of this as an Admiral herself in the third game]].
* MotorMouth: She admits to this as a defense mechanism when she becomes nervous.
* MustNotDieAVirgin: Seems to be her motivation to "find a way before the last fight". It's no wonder that, if she survives to the third game, she doesn't end it alone.
* {{Nice G|uy}}irl: She's very polite, selfless, and forgiving. Shown especially in the third game, where she uses her connections in the Migrant Fleet to get a turian colony evacuated at the insistence of one of its former inhabitants, even though that same guy was a clerk on the Citadel who refused to let her into the Presidium, called her a "suit rat", and didn't even get her a doctor when she had a bullet in her arm. She notes that while she can rub in her current power to him, it wouldn't solve anything and would be immature.
* NobleBigot: Make no mistake -- as selfless and heroic as Tali is, she ''hates'' synthetic lifeforms. And she's one of the more ''open-minded'' quarians. Of course, this is a JustifiedTrope given her situation. Her people were driven off their home planet and nearly annihilated by their own created AI race, and the geth later [[spoiler:kill her father as well]]. The fact that the quarians started it aside, Tali has more than a few reasons to be distrustful of if not hostile towards, say, [[spoiler:Legion]]. Later, thanks to CharacterDevelopment, the aforementioned open-mindedness pays off. [[spoiler: The player's choices can make her be more friendly to Legion, sparking a friendly NotSoDifferent situation in the third game to resolve the whole quarian/geth conflict. Doing so factors in to the potential for reconciliation between the geth and quarians]].
* NotSoDifferent: From a Spacer Shepard, since both are {{Military Brat}}s whose parents eventually became an Admiral of their respective fleet. Even more-so when/if she becomes a high-ranked member of the hierarchy whom even higher-ups defer to.
* OddFriendship: In ''3'', it seems that she and Legion have been in communication, and it's clear that they develop a strange fondness for one another even after the other admirals lead the quarians back into war with the geth. [[spoiler: If Legion "dies" to give the geth true sentience and peace is achieved, Tali mentions that in lamenting all the people she watched die, she's mourning even Legion, "how weird is that?"]]
* [[OnlySaneMan Only Sane Woman]]: Behind Jacob [[spoiler:and Legion]], Tali is one of the more sensible crewmembers on the ''Normandy'' in VideoGame/MassEffect2, [[NobleBigot though she still has her issues.]] [[spoiler:[[CharacterDevelopment At least until Mass Effect 3]]]].
* OptionalPartyMember: Just like Thane, Samara, Grunt, Zaeed, Kasumi and [[spoiler: Legion]] (i.e. non-DLC, post-Horizon squadmates), you can complete [[VideoGame/MassEffect2 the second game]] without her. [[PlotTailoredToTheParty Doing this will come back to haunt you, though...]]
* OrgasmicCombat: Her french acting.
* OutOfFocus: Ironically, while her relevance to the plot grows bigger in the second and third games, her role in both of them comes much later than in the first where she was recruited after only two missions. In ''2'' she appears early on but is forced to take off due to the fact that she's in the middle of undertaking a mission for her people and she doesn't return until halfway through the game leading her to be absent for a good portion. Likewise ''3'' has Shepard busy with helping the turians and krogan and later dealing with the Cerberus coup, leading her to not return until halfway through the story once again.
** That said, despite all of that, she and Garrus are the only two squadmates that can fight alongside Shepard across all three games.
* PardonMyKlingon: She uses the term "bosh'tet" from time to time. [[BilingualBonus Which is similar to the Hebrew word for "shameful one" or a way to saying "shit" in portuguese.]]
* [[spoiler:PairTheSpares: If your Male Shepard does not romance Tali in Mass Effect 3, she will end up with Garrus]].
** [[spoiler: When you consider that Garrus is essentially a ''Paragade'' Shepard, it makes sense that she's attracted to those qualities. Not to mention the convenience of sharing similar body chemistry]].
* PleaseDontLeaveMe: [[spoiler: In the Extended Cut DLC, if you've got a romanced Tali accompanying you to the final run to the Crucible, she will end up critically injured in an explosion. Shepard will, in turn, have the other companion get her aboard the Normandy safely, prompting her to invoke this trope. You can either [[VideoGameCaringPotential give her one final, tender, heartfelt goodbye]]...or [[VideoGameCrueltyPotential say she'll just get in your way]].]]
* [[spoiler:PlotlineDeath: Can suffer this in ''[=ME2=]'', at which point she does not appear in ''[=ME3=]''. Can also suffer this in ''[=ME3=]'', depending on your choices during the re-ignited quarian/geth war.]]
* PopCulturalOsmosisFailure: Falls prey to several of these from the human crew, but finally gets to turn the tables in the ''Citadel DLC'', when romanced Shepard fails to get her reference to ''Fleet and Flotilla'', her favourite film/musical. The clip of the vid the player sees reveals she'd been quoting it directly in several of her romance scenes, and Shepard unknowingly did the right responses.
* PrecisionFStrike:
** When she's truly mad, she tends to use the term "bosh'tet," a quarian curse. She ''screams'' it at Kai Leng if she's brought along to Thessia.
** Taking her along to the [[spoiler: Cerberus Headquarters]] reveals that she's not afraid of using human curse words, either.
---> '''Tali:''' Choke on it, [[spoiler:Cerberus]] bastards!
* PoweredArmour: The quarian suits are a peculiar version of this. In the first game, Tali has ridiculously high shields, while her alternate appearance in ''2'' comes with a targeting scanner on her mask and in ''3'', one of her outfits gives her faceplate a ''blast-shield''.
* RankUp: [[spoiler:She is an Admiral in the third game]].
* [[spoiler: ReasonableAuthorityFigure: Technically becomes this in ''Mass Effect 3'', even if her position as an Admiral is mostly ceremonial. She's still very helpful if you want to broker peace between the quarians and geth]].
* RedOniBlueOni: Some people see her as blue, with [[LoveableRogue Kasumi]] being the Red Oni. Tali, [[BewareTheNiceOnes though she has her moments]], is kind, calm, and uses her [[TheEngineer considerable skills]] to aid others. Kasumi is upbeat, [[GenkiGirl energetic]], and uses her considerable talents for [[ClassyCatBurglar thievery and espionage]].
* ReassignmentBackfire:
** [[spoiler:When the Admiralty Board accuses her of treason, they officially change her ship from the ''Neema'' to the ''Normandy'', in hopes of publicly ostracizing her from the fleet and under the impression that Shepard would do a substandard job of defending her]].
** The Paragon ending to this has Shepard go PapaWolf[=/=]MamaBear on the entire quarian Admiralty board, fuming that they would even ''consider'' to exile Tali after everything she's done, which was help save the entire damn ''galaxy''. The middle option gets the entire crowd on her side. In the Renegade outcome, Shepard calls them flat out on their "political bullshit." The Admirals meekly decide to acquit her of all charges. After which, [[UndyingLoyalty she decides to keep the name "vas Normandy"]].
---> '''Shepard:''' We could still go back and get you exiled, if you want.\\
'''Tali''': ''[laughs]'' Hah! Thanks, but I'm fine with things like this. It's fun watching you shout.
* RefugeInAudacity: Calling an admiral a bosh'tet in the middle of her trial. To be fair, news of her father's possible death was intentionally withheld from her by said admirals.
* RelationshipUpgrade: Potentially with Male Shepard in the second game.
* RescueRomance:
** It even gets [[LampshadeHanging lampshaded]] by Tali that she often gets rescued by Shepard; not that she can't handle herself, but it certainly helped kick-start her feelings for him.
** Is done in reverse as well when she saves Shepard in the third game -- that is, [[spoiler: if you side with the quarians in their conflict with the geth]]. Also happens on the Geth Dreadnought, where Tali saves Shepard from falling to his/her death when the elevator is damaged by a rocket.
** The casual way in ''2'' that a Male Paragon Shepard states the reason for showing up to rescue Tali from an army of geth. Be honest, who ''wouldn't'' fall a little in love with him at that point?
---> '''Shepard''': I was in the neighborhood... thought you might need a hand?
** Inverted again in the Citadel DLC.
--->''[Tali kills two {{mook}}s]''\\
'''Tali''': [[RunningGag Did you really fall through the fish tank?]]\\
'''Shepard''': We'll talk about it later.\\
'''Tali''': Do you remember back when ''you'' used to rescue ''me'' in the wards?\\
'''Shepard''': We'll talk about it ''later''.
* RequiredPartyMember: In ''VideoGame/MassEffect3'', [[spoiler:the first and last missions of the Rannoch arc]].
* SetAMookToKillAMook: She can hack synthetic enemies and get them to kill each other. This includes [[GiantMook Geth Primes,]] [[SpiderTank Geth Armatures,]] [[MiniMecha Atlas Mechs]], and [[MoreDakka all types of turrets.]] Like most powers, it was nerfed heavily in the second game (it was considered overpowered in the first due to almost half of the game's enemies being synthetic), but was buffed again in the third (mainly in extending its functionality to screw up organic enemy weapons and covering both functions under the umbrella name "Sabotage").
* SinsOfOurFathers: [[spoiler:Her character quest in [=ME2=] centers around her being held responsible for her father's geth experiments -- actually a convenient smokescreen for the admirals to discuss the issue of going to war with the geth]].
* ShockAndAwe: She could use Overload in the first game. This was replaced by Energy Drain in the second and third games, which is unique to her, except for potentially Shepard. Energy Drain buffs her own shields in addition to draining enemy shields[[note]]in the third game, it also stuns enemies hit by hit for a few seconds[[/note]], but lacks the [[ChainLightning certain]] offensive properties that Overload gains in the third game.
* ShootTheDog: [[spoiler: If you can't broker peace between the quarians and the geth, then you must choose one of the two. If you choose the quarians, then Legion will knock Shepard down, strangle him/her, and hold him/her over the edge of a cliff. Tali then stabs it. In Legion's final moments, Tali tells it that she's sorry and that it does have a soul; if it's the Geth VI she tells him that "Legion would have understood" (she is mistaken)]].
* ShotgunsAreJustBetter: Well, she thinks so.
* ShrinkingViolet: In her romance with Shepard in the second game. She gets more confident and flirtatious in the third.
** She's actually quite snippy. You sass her, she'll gladly return fire. Just ask Wrex.
** Also, keep in mind that she isn't generally shy and is perfectly capable of having a conversation without stuttering or getting nervous. It's just Shepard's advances that make her nervous. And not even because of how forward he is; she's just looking out for his mission and doesn't want to pursue him at the expense of getting sick and not being able to help him.
* SiblingRivalry: If romanced in the sequels, after previously romancing Ashley in the first, both see the other as a sister. Bringing them both onto the Geth Dreadnought however, shows that they have some friction over their mutual feelings for Shepard (unless you commit to Tali beforehand).
* SkilledButNaive: When Shepard first meets her, Tali has survived numerous encounters with geth and Saren's forces, but was easily lured into an ambush set by Fist and the Shadow Broker.
* TheSmartGuy: The tech and engineering expert.
* SoleSurvivor: Loses her entire unit on Haestrom, with the possible exception of Kal'Reegar.
* SomethingOnlyTheyWouldSay: How she can potentially realize that, yes, that is Shepard standing in front of her in the beginning of the second game. Only s/he would know about how she got the geth data for her Pilgrimage. This depends on whether you ''did'' give her the geth data way back in the first game.
* [[SquishyWizard Squishy Technician]]: Her tech powers can be incredibly useful when trying to mezz enemies, especially when dealing with synthetics, but her physical durability is pretty poor, due in part to the general fragility of her suit and (in [=ME1=] at least) the rarity of her armor upgrades. In ''VideoGame/MassEffect1'' this is balanced out by pouring points into her Electronics skill and her "Quarian Machinist" Class skill, which increases her shields to the point where she can survive pretty much the whole game with the same suit she started with; in the later games, she's a bit more durable in general and gets a loyalty power that drains enemies' shields or synthetics' health and replenishes (or even overcharges) her own shields.
* StatuesqueStunner: She is the tallest female squad-mate, only a few centimeters shorter than M!Shep. Especially when you consider the fact that quarians are generally slighter and shorter than humans. To quarians, Tali may be something of a giantess.
* SubordinateExcuse: The second game reveals that she goes with Shepard just as much to be around him as to save the galaxy.
* TalkingLightbulb: What with being a quarian and all.
* TemptingFate: "Commander Shepard, this is Admiral Zaal'Koris vas Qwib-Qwib. ''[-- Do not ask about the name --]''." Guess what's one of the dialog options immediately after she says that?
* TerrifiedOfGerms: Given the quarians' weak immune system, this is rather serious concern. She's not as terrified as most of her race though, since she actively attempts to find ways to overcome this handicap in order to be intimate with a Male Shepard.
** She also expresses that she'd be willing to join suits with [=FemShep=], though it appears to be more about trusting her with her life, than actual romantic interest. Probably.
* TertiarySexualCharacteristics: She wears purple, and her hood emulates the basic shape of feminine long hair (as do all female quarians' hoods).
* ToAbsentFriends: Regarding ''Miranda'' of all people, [[spoiler:if the latter doesn't survive Sanctuary in the third game (she has the same scene if Miranda survives, but it doesn't fit the trope)]].
-->'''Tali:''' Nice job, you genetically perfect Cerberus cheerleader ''bosh'tet. Keelah se'lai.''
* TokenGoodTeammate: In ''2'', is among the few party members who is not an AntiHero.
* TookALevelInBadass: At the beginning of the first game, (despite being 22), she essentially is a teenager in over her head, on the run from a few thugs. Come the third game -- three years, more or less, in-universe -- and she is [[spoiler:''an Admiral of the Fleet'']].
** Also occurred between the beginning and end of ''Mass Effect 1''. At the start, she was merely able to hold her own against a trio of regular assassins, and required Shepard's help to escape the situation alive. By the end of it she, like every other party member, is an army-crushing terror in gameplay, and in-story (at least according to her final conversation with Garrus in VideoGame/MassEffect3), she was able to rack up more kills against heavily armed and advanced geth infantry on Ilos than Garrus Vakarian himself.
* TranquilFury: Cerberus tends to be a calming influence on Tali. It makes more sense if you read the tie-in novel ''Literature/MassEffectAscension'', which details the events which made the quarians hate Cerberus.
-->(to Jacob)I don't know who you are, but Cerberus threatened the security of the Migrant Fleet. Don't make nice. [...] I assumed you were undercover, Shepard. Maybe even planning to blow Cerberus up. If that's the case, I'll lend you a grenade.\\
(After listening to the Illusive Man talking about how to manipulate Shepard into trusting him) He needs to die.
* {{Tsundere}}:
** After Shepard affirms he still wants to be in a relationship with her in the third game, she becomes much more relaxed around him, to the point that she starts displaying some of these traits.
--->'''Tali''': I thought I'd lost you.\\
'''Shepard''': You were worried?\\
'''Tali''': You bet I was! You dying because the geth overrode my hack? Think of my reputation!\\
'''Shepard''': You were worried.
** In ''Leviathan'', if romanced, she actually ''scolds'' Shepard for [[spoiler: diving into the depths of the ocean to [[DidWeJustHaveTeaWithCthulhu speak with Leviathan]]]], since she was left worrying like crazy until he got back.
** In the Extended Cut, [[spoiler:Tali is one of the love interests that implores Shepard to come back alive. The other one is Garrus]].
* UnderestimatingBadassery: The Shadow Broker in ''2'' has a unique comment for each potential party member about how valuable eliminating them and Shepard would be. But Tali? He's ''surprised'' Liara brought her along, what with her [[EverybodysDeadDave botched research mission]] on Haestrom. Though he could just be trying to press her BerserkButton.
* UndyingLoyalty: Best summed up in three simple words:
--> '''Tali''': Thank you... '''Captain'''.
* UnwittingPawn: To the Illusive Man, like so many others. The Illusive Man originally wanted to keep Tali away from Shepard like he did the rest of the original squad. That only changed when her cooperation with Shepard on Freedom's Progress convinced the Illusive Man that Tali was a factor he could control. He then used her to bolster Shepard's loyalty to Cerberus and to gain intel on the Migrant Fleet. Ironically, this may have saved Tali's life.
* ViolentlyProtectiveGirlfriend: Gets a hint of this in the third game provided Shepard romanced her, especially if she [[spoiler: kills Legion.]] Also, she has four very simple words to say once [[spoiler: the files at the Cerberus Base reveal how The Illusive Man manipulated Shepard into seeing Cerberus as sympathetic]].
-->'''Tali''': He needs to die.
* VitriolicBestBuds: With Garrus: Will snark at each other at any given opportunity, but they are shown to care for each other. [[spoiler: If Shepard doesn't romance her, by 3 it is shown to be BelligerentSexualTension.]]
* VocalEvolution: At the very beginning of the first game, Liz Sroka hadn't quite settled the nuances yet; Tali's voice was higher and has less of an accent. Her performance from the second game on is uniform. She also sounds a lot more expressive with her emotions; notably so in her TearJerker scenes.
* WasItReallyWorthIt: [[spoiler: If the quarians reclaim Rannoch violently rather than by making peace with the geth in ''VideoGame/MassEffect3'', she wonders if it was really worth exterminating a potential ally and personally killing a friend]].
* [[WellDoneSonGuy "Well Done, Daughter" Gal]]: Tali is sure her father loves her, but regardless is said to be rather distant, and probably has similar expectations for her as much as everyone else. And if you don't hug her during her loyalty mission, she remarks on how her father never used his "sick days" to show her his face... She's also not very happy that [[spoiler:his dying message essentially was just giving her orders]], remarking that she's not sure whether he didn't care at all, or this is the only way he could show it.
** Comes across in the third game when she gets hammered on turian brandy and admits in a conversation with Shepard that one of the reasons she admires Miranda is because she ''never'' changed herself to please ''her'' father. Even if half the time she was a "Cerberus Cheerleader Bosh'tet".
** If romanced she also comments that she's getting drunk with her boyfriend. Her ''human'' boyfriend.
---> '''Tali''': My father would have ''hated'' you.
* WhatTheHellHero: She ''will'' call Shepard out if he/she betrays her trust.
** She also reacts that way when she finds out Shepard is working for Cerberus, has a functional AI on board, or recruits [[spoiler: Legion]]. She was under the impression that Shepard had been working undercover and was planning to blow them up... [[ViolentlyProtectiveGirlfriend she was even going to offer a grenade.]]
** In the first game Shepard can call her out on her attempts to justify the quarians' attempted genocide of the geth when the geth became sentient (an action that led to the civil war that resulted in the quarians fleeing their homeworld).
** She's ''furious'' when Garrus innocently suggests using the standard turian tactic of [[ColonyDrop orbital bombardment]] to eliminate the geth troops on Rannoch, pointing out that the quarians have waited centuries to return home and he wants to leave bits of it uninhabitable by throwing ''rocks'' at it!
* [[WhatWouldXDo What Would Shepard Do?]]:
** Not as much as Garrus, but she tries, to the point of trying to emulate Shepard's [[NiceJobBreakingItHero nice job with the mining laser]] back on Therum with demolition charges. We'll just assume she forgot about how that kind of blew up in Shepard's face when s/he tried it... but hey, it still got Shepard what s/he wanted.
** Another example: When trying to help a fellow quarian on Illium who sold herself into indentured servitude to pay off stock market debts, Tali will follow Shepard's lead if you try to charm/intimidate a Synthetic Insights rep into buying her contract, offering increased business with the Migrant Fleet if you use Charm, or threatening to park said Migrant Fleet on top of the Synthetic Insights headquarters if you use Intimidate.
*** In 3, she'll state flat-out that [[spoiler: the only reason she took the Admiral position]] was because she thought Shepard would do the same thing in her position.
* WhenYouComingHomeDad: Makes it very clear that she was never close to her father in childhood. Though that is sort of expected if your father is part of the leadership council for your entire race.
-->'''Tali:''' I don't care what he would have wanted, Shepard! I wanted a father who cared about me more than his war effort. I wanted a father who would take the sick-leave time and let me see his face without a helmet in the way. Instead, I got orders. And this. And a panel of admirals who think I'm a traitor. Those were my father's gifts to me.
* WhyDidItHaveToBeSnakes:
** If she is [[http://youtu.be/ZIQ-iGF1t-4 brought along]] for the rachni sidequest in ''3'', she makes it clear she does not like crawlies. By freaking out when attacked by swarmers and screaming "Spiders ''spiders spiders '''spiiiiiiiiiders!!'''''" A later conversation with Garrus reveals she's felt this way since day one. If you have the Mass Effect: Datapad iOS app, she even sends you an email on the subject.
--->'''Tali:''' Spiders, Shepard. Seriously. Spiders.
** Which makes sense if you brought her with you to Noveria in the first game. She's particularly vulnerable to rachni acid attacks back then (since their acid attacks bypass her otherwise [[StoneWall absurdly strong shields]]), [[spoiler: and that was ''before'' the Reapers [[FateWorseThanDeath made husks out of them]]]].
* WorstWhateverEver: How she sums up the Citadel DLC BusmansHoliday. "Worst. Shore leave. Ever."
* WorthIt:
** Tali's response when she gets sick after her relationship with Shepard becomes intimate.
** Which gets a CallBack in 3.
--->'''Tali:''' And [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EaPdGMxFSv0#t=19m43s for the record]]? Still ''totally'' WorthIt.
* WrenchWench: Quarians are the whole race of incredibly skilled engineers. And ''even among the quarians'', she is counted one of the best engineers and geth specialists. Note that it's not an InformedAbility. She is as skilled with technology as Legion and Kasumi. In other words, her level of tech-savvy rivals [[spoiler:over a thousand linked geth programs]] and the best human thief in the galaxy.
* YamatoNadeshiko: Believe it or not, Tali could be viewed as having shades of this. She's self-sacrificing, is very nice, is the most moral teammate of a Mass Effect 2 "squad" that mostly contains criminals and killers, the hood on her helmet resembles long hair, and for all her Action Girl tendencies she tends to ultimately defer to Shepard's judgment. [[spoiler: And she prioritizes her people above everything else, ''even her (optional) relationship with Shepard'': if you allow the quarians to get wiped out, relationship or not, Tali will commit suicide]].
* YouCantGoHomeAgain: In the second game, [[spoiler: Tali can be exiled from the Flotilla for treason. This doesn't stop the Admirals from calling on her during their assault on the geth in 3, but she admits she's their "dirty secret". It also keeps you from making peace between the two sides, as she must be an Admiral for that]].
* TheUnreveal: Go ahead, romance her in ''2''. See how sadistic Bioware can be.
** Close-ups do give you some view of her eyes and nose behind the mask. She looks rather human.
** If you romance her in Mass Effect 3 you get [[http://masseffect.wikia.com/wiki/File:Taliface.png a photo of her unmasked]]. [[spoiler: She actually looks very close to human, with some dark lines along her neck and three-fingered hands. She even has human-like hair. But also glowing eyes. The dark lines are also not exclusive to the neck, she has some on her forehead too, linking to her eyebrows]].
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[[quoteright:330:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Tali_6115.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:330:I [[MemeticMutation have a]] [[BadassAdorable shotgun.]]]]
-->''"Our Pilgrimage proves we are willing to give of ourselves for the greater good. What does it say about me if I turn my back on this?"''
-->'''Voiced by:''' Ash Sroka (credited as Liz Sroka in 1 and 2)
A quarian machinist who specializes in technology and is traveling on her pilgrimage to find technology or resources valuable to the quarian Migrant Fleet. Joins Shepard's team for protection when she finds information incriminating Saren, and remains both out of gratitude and to help bring down Saren. She is a party member in all three games, as well as a romance option in [=ME2=].
----
* ActionGirl: She doesn't hesitate to get into a scrap.
* {{Adorkable}}:
** Particularly when you romance her.
--->'''Shepard:''' I trust you too, Tali, but you don't have to prove anything to me.\\
'''Tali:''' I know... well, no, not that I know... it's just that... well... it's not normally like this... I mean, wow... when did it get so hot in here?
** If romanced in ''Mass Effect 2'', she becomes more confident in her relationship with Shepard in ''Mass Effect 3''.
** Though this trait comes back in her romance in the ''Citadel'' DLC, where she acts like a giddy schoolgirl when recalling her childhood memories of watching "Fleet and Flotilla". She even sings Shepard one of the songs from the musical version. Which just so happens to be the [[RealSongThemeTune romance theme of the game]] ("I Was Lost Without You").
* AffectionateNickname:
** [[TheNicknamer James]] nicknames her 'Sparks' in ''3''.
--->'''James:''' Yeah, your quarian friend. The jumpy one with the glowing eyes? Sparks. \\
'''Shepard:''' Uh-huh.
** A male Shepard who romances her calls her "[[spoiler:miss vas Normandy]]." Joker quips that, every time he hears Shepard call her that, he expects her to be [[BeautyContest wearing a sash and tiara]].
* ApologeticAttacker: [[spoiler: She ''really'' doesn't want to kill Legion, and tells it before it dies that yes, it really does have a soul. She then mourns him later]].
* AppropriatedAppellation: During her loyalty quest [[spoiler: the Admiralty board (specifically Zaal'Koris) has Tali's ship name changed from "vas Neema" to "vas Normandy," in the belief that being associated with a human ship (and having a human captain represent her instead of a quarian) would hurt her chances of avoiding exile. After you earn Tali's loyalty (especially if you proved the admirals wrong and got Tali acquitted without the evidence), she decides to let the name stick]].
* AttackDrone: She can deploy two at a time in VideoGame/MassEffect3. One guards her personally, while the other floats around the the area, distracting enemies and bombarding them with rockets. While she can't summon more than two at a time, she can almost instantly replace them when they're destroyed. She could only deploy one in VideoGame/MassEffect2, which was so much weaker that a better name for it would be "Distraction Drone". At least ''that'' one had a name.
* {{Badass}}
** BadassAdorable: She can fight her way through hundreds of geth without breaking a sweat and yet she stammers when you romance her. She also names her combat drones and praises them for doing a good job of killing things.
*** [[spoiler: The ''Citadel DLC'' reveals that several of her lines from her romance arc in ''2'' were borrowed from ''Fleet and Flotilla'', her favourite film/musical. Given her Shadow Broker dossier mentioned her downloading it (as well as several other books about human interaction), it's implied she used it to give her the confidence to articulate how she felt]].
** BadassBookworm: Being a quarian, she is ''required'' to know about advanced subjects like starship engineering. And even among quarians she is considered an expert, even ''before'' she finishes her Pilgrimage after the first game.
** [[spoiler:FourStarBadass: If she's exonerated in her trial in Mass Effect 2, the other admirals elect to have her fill her deceased father's vacant position]].
** [[spoiler: AuthorityEqualsAsskicking: Though only technically. She's an Admiral in the third game, but aside from making a few deals on the Citadel and voting against going to war with the geth, she doesn't really do any admiral stuff]].
*** [[spoiler: AsskickingEqualsAuthority: The reason she's promoted to the position of Admiral is because she knows more about kicking geth ass than any other living quarian]].
*** {{Ambadassador}}: [[spoiler: Seems to be her ''de facto'' position on the Admiralty Board. Having her be an admiral is required to get the peaceful ending to the Rannoch quest line, and on one occasion she is seen negotiating with a turian to arrange the Migrant Fleet's evacuation of turian refugees]].
* BattleCouple: With Shepard if romanced.
* BecauseYouWereNiceToMe: Part of the reason she has such UndyingLoyalty to Shepard. Until she met them, everyone she encountered on her Pilgrimage treated her like a second class citizen, a beggar or thief, simply because she was ''[[FantasticRacism quarian]]''. Shepard was the first person to treat her like an actual ''person'', offer her a place on their crew and make her feel truly accepted.
** It goes beyond this during ''2'', when it's shown that she believes that Shepard, a human, has been a better friend to her than any quarian ever has. It's notable that despite having "vas Normandy" shoved on her as a political play, if exonerated, she decides to keep the name.
* BewareTheNiceOnes:
** Tali is right up there with Kaidan in the sheer niceness department. That doesn't change the fact that she is a ''monster'' with a shotgun, can easily lock down most enemies, and can potentially have the strongest shields in your entire party even without upgrades. And when provoked, she can get both vicious and creative.
--->'''Tali''' (after being told by Shepard to not lose sleep over a volus who is racist against quarians): My brain agrees with you. My gut says I should jack his suit's olfactory filters so that everything smells like refuse!\\
'''Garrus:''' Remind me not to get on your bad side.
** In ''Mass Effect 3'', her response to [[spoiler: viewing the Illusive Man's plan to emotionally manipulate a vulnerable Shepard (after being resurrected by the Lazarus Project, and being cut off from all his friends and allies) into working with Cerberus]] shows she can be quite frightening when she is well and truly angry.
--->'''Tali''': [[TranquilFury He needs to die.]]
** How she shuts up Garrus pestering her about talking about her [[IllGirl immune system]] on the Citadel in ''2''.
---> '''Tali''': I have a ''shotgun''.\\
'''Garrus''': Mmmmmaybe we'll talk later.
* BigBrotherInstinct: Seems to invoke this in a Paragon Shepard. If you threaten Tali, Shepard ''will'' come after you. Tali's trial in ''2'' has Shepard actually ''berate'' the quarian Admiralty for even ''daring'' to accuse her of treason, which results in Shepard becoming so ''furious'' that the quarian Admirals meekly decide to drop all charges against her.
* BigRedButton: Though one doesn't really show up, [[LampshadeHanging she still points out the inadvisability of pushing them]].
* BiTheWay: During the Citadel DLC, if Garrus is romanced by Fem!Shep, depending on how the party goes, she can be found drunk and talking to herself in a pretend conversation with him, in which the possibility of a threesome intrigues her. PlayedForLaughs, but considering how flustered she got around Fem!Shep in the second game during that suit-linking conversation...
* BoldlyComing: It seems that Tali is a xenophile at heart; she either can romance Male!Shep, shack up with Garrus if neither of them are romanced, is interested in a threesome with Fem!Shep and Romance!Garrus as evidenced above, and states that Fleet and Flotilla, a romance vid about a [[StarCrossedLovers turian man and quarian woman]] "jump-started her puberty" after roping a romanced Male!Shepard into watching the vid and singing.
** Her Shadow Broker dossier in ''2'' lists more than a few purchases of books on human-alien interactions.
* BizarreAlienBiology: Quarians are one of only two species (the other being turians) that have a [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chirality_%28chemistry%29 dextro-amino acid based biology]]. As such, they can't consume any food or drink made for levo-amino acid physiologies (humans, asari, salarian, krogan, etc.) without, at the least, not getting any nourishment from it; or at the most, having a fatal allergic reaction. Also, the quarian immune system evolved to absorb and form symbiosis with micro-organisms, apparently a result of insect life never evolving on their planet; this makes them extremely vulnerable to infections, especially given they've been forced to live in totally sterile environments for centuries now. Javik even theorizes that this may have had a side effect of making her species more sympathetic to the plights of others.
* BreakoutCharacter: Like Garrus, her plot relevance surged up like crazy from the second game on, even becoming a LoveInterest.
* BreakTheCutie: She suffers an emotional breakdown while investigating her trial. You can potentially give her comfort by hugging her. [[spoiler: Or you can make it worse by handing over the incriminating evidence during her trial. Doing this will turn her father into a monster in the eyes of the quarian people and cost you her loyalty, most likely causing her death]].
** [[spoiler:Let the geth destroy the quarians in the third game. She commits suicide. Even if the geth and quarians make peace, she mourns everyone who died. Including Legion, to her own astonishment]].
* [[BubbleBoy Bubble Girl]]: Comes from a race of them. Their weak immune systems force them to live in their environmental suits constantly. As a bonus, prepubescent quarians actually ''do'' live in bubbles; getting their first suit is considered a rite of passage.
* ButIWouldReallyEnjoyIt: Tali is initially reluctant to sleep with Shepard, because their mutually [[BizarreAlienBiology bizarre alien biologies]] would result in anything from allergic reaction, to drastic illness, to death for her. She ''assures'' you that this does not coincide with her desires.
-->'''Tali:''' Just so you know, I'm running a fever, I've got a nasty cough, and my sinuses are filled with something I can't even describe. And it was totally '''{{worth it}}'''.
* CantHaveSexEver: She works ''hard'' to subvert this. [[spoiler: Her Shadow Broker dossier reveals she once had [[ADateWithRosiePalms "nerve stimulation" implants]], had them removed/turned off/reinstalled, and then finally had it installed and upgraded]].
** Assuming you romanced her, this is no longer a problem by the third game. Her body's immune system has adapted enough that she can have sex with Shepard safely.
* [[CantHoldHisLiquor Can't Hold Her Liquor]]: After the Horizon mission in ''3'', you can find her in the ''Normandy'' lounge getting hammered. Then if you go down to the cargo bay to talk to Javik, you walk in on her drunk-dialing him. Happens again in the Citadel DLC -- she gets drunk the quickest and is always one of the most hungover. If you opt to start the party lively, she is already slurring her speech, has to go to the bathroom, and has AlcoholHic issues at the outset. If the party is in one of the third phase quiet paths, she's in the restroom mumbling semi-coherently in a stupor.
* CharacterDevelopment: Tali is more mature in the later games. The way she advocates geth/quarian peace in the third game speaks volumes when the first encounter she has with an AI in the series (the credit-scamming machine) was to demand Shepard kill it ''on principle.'' Also, see VocalEvolution.
* CharacterTic: Tali frequently holds her hands together and bounces on her heels when she's nervous.
* ChekhovsGun: You know that knife strapped to her boot that we never see her using? It can come up in one very important moment in ''3'' -- [[spoiler: stabbing Legion if you pick the quarians over the geth]].
* ClingyCostume: Like all quarians.
* TheConscience: Acts as one of the voices of reason on the ''Normandy''... [[FantasticRacism except on the topic]] of ArtificialIntelligence.
* ColorCodedForYourConvenience: Her Combat Drone in the second game is purple, in contrast to the red and blue ones used by enemy engineers and Legion respectively. In the third game, the color of her drone is changed to orange.
* CooldownHug: [[VideoGameCaringPotential Shepard has the option of giving this to her after]] [[spoiler: she finds her father's dead body]].
* CovertPervert: It's fairly obvious during the second game that Tali has secretly lusted after male Shepard since practically day one. And the second he shows ''any'' romantic interest in her, the first thing she makes clear is that she wants him to do the honors, so to speak.
** The Shadow Broker Dossiers further show that, after being authorized for Project Haestrom (shortly before the ME2's beginning), she installed several apps. These include videos dealing with loss, but eventually lead to apps on human mating rituals, Immuno-Boosters (for [[DoubleEntendre professionals]]) and several [[ADateWithRosiePalms Nerve Stims]].
** The Citadel DLC shows how horrible Tali is when she's drunk. Depending on your relationships with her and Garrus, she'll be fantasizing about Shepard or Garrus getting hot and heavy with her. If, as Fem!Shep, you romanced Garrus, she'll be fantasizing about [[ThreesomeSubtext all three of you together]].
* CurtainsMatchTheWindow: A rather more literal example than most, both her visor and hood being purple in color.
** [[spoiler: Subverted when a picture of her without a suit is shown in the third game. Although her hair '''could''' be a deep shade of purple, matching her choice in clothing. It's... [[LensFlare kinda hard to tell]]]].
* [[spoiler:[[ADateWithRosiePalms Nerve Stimulation Implants]]: It's revealed in the ''Lair of the Shadow Broker'' DLC that she had them, then removed and reinstalled the program multiple times before finally settling on the upgraded version]].
* DeadpanSnarker: To wit:
-->'''Tali:''' ''[to Garrus]'' I'm glad the imminent destruction of all organic life has improved your career opportunities.\\
\\
'''Tali:''' ''[to Shepard]'' What could I possibly be suggesting? I mean, a young woman gets saved by a dashing commander who lets her join his crew and then goes off to save the galaxy? [[LampshadeHanging How could she possibly develop any interest in him?]]\\
\\
'''Shepard:''' I'm not working for [Cerberus], they're working for me.\\
'''Tali:''' So ''you'' ordered the listening devices and tracking beacons that are all over this ship?
* DeathGlare: In her post-recruitment scene in the second game, Tali manages to throw a ''withering'' DeathGlare at Jacob during her briefing on the ''Normandy''. Through an ''opaque helmet'', which somehow makes it even more menacing.
* DiggingYourselfDeeper:
** Gets flustered and does this after accidentally revealing her attraction to Shepard in the second game.
** Alternately, if neither she nor Garrus is romanced by Shepard, this is her reaction when [[spoiler:Shepard walks in on her and Garrus together...]]
* [[spoiler: DrivenToSuicide: In ''3'', if you can't get the geth and the quarians to work together, choosing the geth side means she has to watch the entire fleet (and with the Pilgrimage recalled, that includes every quarian that wasn't exiled who could make it) get blown out of the sky. She walks off a cliff to her death]].
* DiscOneNuke: In the first game, she was a ridiculously durable death machine with maxed out Electronics and "Quarian Machinist", which raised her shields to very high levels, and in the former's case let her sap the shields off any enemy in one go. It was very easy to max out both those skills very early in the game.
* DrowningMySorrows: She resorts to this once or twice during the third game. It takes triple-filtered turian brandy introduced through an "emergency induction port".
--> '''Shepard:''' That's a straw, Tali. \\
'''Tali:''' [[SesquipedalianLoquaciousness Emerrrrrrgency.]] [[InsistentTerminology Induction.]] [[SugarWiki/FunnyMoments Port.]]
* DudeMagnet: Almost as much as female Shepard, if you can believe that. [[spoiler: She's one of only two remaining squadmates to have a possible love interest ''other'' than Shepard (namely, Garrus), and she draws positive attention from Joker, Kenneth, and Kal'Reegar as well, and even Javik in a way]].
* TheEngineer: In the first game, Chief Engineer Adams is impressed with her skill. In the second, she gets automatically promoted to chief engineer herself as soon as she's recruited.
** In the third game, with the return of Chief Engineer Adams, she unofficially becomes Second Engineer and acts as his Relief. Adams comments that its good to have her back as she clearly knows the new ''Normandy's'' engines better than he does. Even Joker says that the ''Normandy'' doesn't seem to be running right without her handling the engines.
* EnemyMine:
** What she sees working with Legion as, until the end of the second game, where she stays in touch with it until the geth are upgraded by the Reapers.
** She also hates Cerberus and makes it clear that she's only there [[UndyingLoyalty because Shepard is.]]
---> '''Tali:''' I thought you were undercover, Shepard. Maybe even planning to blow Cerberus up. If that's the case, I'll loan you a grenade. Otherwise, I'm here for you, not for them.
* EstablishingCharacterMoment: When Fist's men start pulling guns during their meeting with her, she hits two of them with a grenade (destroying their shields and knocking them down), rushes to cover, and pulls out her pistol. If you wait a few seconds to intervene after the gameplay starts, she then guns one or two of the assassins down. After Shepard kills the remaining assassins, she thanks Shepard for the help, and tells him/her about how she obtained the data proving Saren is a traitor by disabling and then hacking information from a geth platform to Shepard's shock, as s/he thought such a thing was impossible.
* EveryoneCanSeeIt: Her feelings for Male Shep. Kelly, Kasumi, Liara, and Javik can all comment on it. Liara, in ''Lair of the Shadow Broker'', suggests she knew about Tali's feelings as early as the first game. Kaidan and Ashley's complete lack of surprise when they hear Shepard and Tali dropping innuendos at each other during a mission suggest they did too.
* [[spoiler: TheExile:]] In ''VideoGame/MassEffect2'', [[spoiler: one possible outcome of her loyalty mission is that she can be permanently exiled from the Migrant Fleet. But she still has a home on the ''Normandy'']].
* {{Expy}}: Of Aerie, the BrokenBird elf maiden from ''VideoGame/BaldursGateII'', as evidenced by her naming her combat drone Chikktika vas Paus, a reference to Aerie's oft-spoken phrase "Faster than Chitika Fastpaws!"
* FacePalm: Well, ''Face Plate Palm''. Tali does this a few times.
-->'''Tali:''' ''(when Shepard asks about "vas Qwib-Qwib")'' Oh, boy. Here we go.
* TheFaceless: Justified. Her species has a weak immune system that means she must wear a special suit at all times. [[spoiler:In third game, if romanced by a male Shepard, she leaves a picture of her in his cabin]].
** [[spoiler: Due to laziness on Bioware and EA's part, the picture is actually an edited version of a stock photo from Getty Images. Link: http://gamerant.com/mass-effect-3-tali-spoiler-unmasked-image-benk-137322/]]
* FantasticRacism: Sometimes slips into this, the geth having become a major BerserkButton for the quarians.
* [[spoiler: FourStarBadass: Admiral, to be exact, in Mass Effect 3]].
* GadgeteerGenius: The quarians' [[PlanetOfHats hat]], but Tali is especially so.
--> '''Tali''': Please, Shepard, I'm a quarian! Give me a hunk of scrap metal, a circuit board, and some element zero, and I'll have it making precision jumps!
* GreenSkinnedSpaceBabe: [[spoiler:You finally get to see Tali sans suit in VideoGame/MassEffect3 if you romance her ''and'' help the quarians reclaim their homeworld. Although her skin color isn't definitively green]].
* GetARoom: If previously romanced and then continued in ''3'', Tali and male Shepard flirt constantly throughout the Geth Dreadnought mission. If brought along as the third squadmate, Garrus ends up snarkily invoking this.
* GoodPeopleHaveGoodSex: If romanced by Paragon Shepard. It's a wonder half the ship [[TheImmodestOrgasm can't hear them.]]
* GlowingEyes: Like all quarian they become visible through her faceplate in ''Mass Effect 2'' and ''3''. Weirdly, not seen [[spoiler: in the picture of herself she leaves on Shepard's nightstand in 3]].
* HackYourEnemy: See "Set a Mook to Kill a Mook".
* {{Handgun}}: Along with shotguns, her main weapon type in all three games.
* HartmanHips: The mandatory mentioning of them along with the character is virtually a meme. Joker even snarks about it when James suggests that he get suited like a quarian to help with his disability:
--> '''Joker:''' Have you seen Tali? I don't have the hips to carry a suit like that.
** AscendedMeme: Became one in-universe as well, by ''2'' and ''3''.
* HeterosexualLifePartners: With female Shepard.
* HoldingHands: Part of her romance path with Shepard.
* HotGypsyWoman[=/=]MatzoFever: Depending on whether you consider the Quarians as a FantasyCounterpartCulture to Roma, or to Jewish people.
* IAteWhat: In one version of the party in the ''Citadel'' DLC, she poisons herself with cheese made for levo-chiral consumers. Though it was really a desperate attempt to ChangeTheUncomfortableSubject of EDI discussing Traynor's... [[LesYay desires]] [[ArousedByTheirVoice for EDI's voice.]]
* ICallItVera: [[ShoutOut Chikktika]] [[VideoGame/BaldursGate vas Paus]], her combat drone. Her drones in the third game no longer have names, unfortunately. However, Chikktika is still mentioned at least once in the Citadel DLC, particularly on calling out Glyph's apparent incompetence at tracking down [[spoiler:the clone]].
* ICantBelieveAGuyLikeYouWouldNoticeMe: Her reaction if Shepard expresses interest in a romantic relationship. Tali had actually been in love with Shepard since the first game, but assumed that he would never see past her helmet and see her for her.
--> '''Tali:''' I've watched you for so long. And yet I never thought you'd ever see past... ''[gestures at her helmet]'' this.
* IfYouEverDoAnythingToHurtHer:
** An [[SesquipedalianLoquaciousness exorbitantly worded]] email from her father, but this is the general gist of its contents. It's a real shame you can't show it to Tali.
** A more mild example with Kasumi after the night alone with Tali:
---> '''Kasumi:''' Tali is so cute. You're all she talks about, in that rainbows-and-butterflies kind of way. She loves you, Shepard. Be good to her.
* IllGirl: Something of a RunningGag concerning her; she finds the perception irksome.
* TheImmodestOrgasm:
** In the third game, a quick dialogue with a romanced male Shepard seems to poke fun at this.
---> '''Tali''': It's good to be back on the ''Normandy''.\\
'''Shepard''': Let me know if it's too quiet for you to sleep. I'm sure I can find you [[DoubleEntendre someplace louder.]]\\
'''Tali''': [[CovertPervert Hmm...]]
* ImStandingRightHere: She finds herself saying this from time to time. Even once to Shepard. Case in point: this conversation if she accompanies Shepard and Mordin on the latter's loyalty mission:
-->'''Shepard''': ''[riling up a sick krogan]'' I said a badass, not a sick scout whining like a quarian with a tummy-ache!\\
'''Tali''': I'm standing right here!
* InfoDump: Unlike the other alien teammates in ''VideoGame/MassEffect'', whose species' backstories are revealed through multiple conversations, other alien NonPlayerCharacters, and [[ProjectedMan Avina]], Tali dumps pretty much everything you need to know about the quarians in your first and ''very'' long conversation with her on the ''Normandy''. This is likely because she's the only quarian character in the entire first ''VideoGame/MassEffect'' game.
* InsecureLoveInterest: Fits this trope like a glove during her romance. Averted in the third game.
* InsistentTerminology: Falls into this when drunk on turian brandy.
--> '''Tali''': Turian brandy, triple filtered and introduced into the suit through an emergency induction port.\\
'''Shepard''': Thats a ''straw'', Tali.\\
'''Tali''': Emmeeerrrgency [[MemeticMutation induction]] [[SugarWiki/FunnyMoments port.]]
* InterspeciesRomance: Her favourite movie (or "vid" as its called in-universe) is ''Fleet and Flotilla'', a film about an interspecies romance between a turian and quarian. Dialogue from ''Citadel'' implies that Tali is into aliens. Also, she can end up with either Male!Shepard or [[spoiler:Garrus]] depending on whom the player decides Shepard to romance. Both potential men she ends up with can be considered aliens.
* InTheBack: [[spoiler: She'll be forced to kill Legion this way if you're unable to broker peace between the quarians and geth and choose not to let Legion upload the Reaper code]].
* ItsQuietTooQuiet: At first, she has trouble sleeping on the ''Normandy'' because the ship is so quiet. She's used to the ships in the Migrant Fleet, which are frequently bought used or are remnants from the geth uprising, and which make a ''lot'' of noise. A quiet quarian ship is typically [[OhCrap a bad sign]].
** Reversed in the second game, where she's used to it and the clamor of the Migrant Fleet is distracting to her.
** And of course there's the CallBack to this in the flirting in the third game.
* IWantMyBelovedToBeHappy: [[TearJerker She initially refuses Shepard's advances because she believes that he'll be hurt by their relationship.]]
** Which is made all the worse [[spoiler: [[DownerEnding at the end of ME3, if the Destroy option isn't taken]]]].
** She also doesn't hold it against you if you break up with her in favor of your ''[=ME1=]'' love interest, saying earnestly that she hopes you two are happy together.
* JustFriends: [[ReVision Retroactively with male!Shep from the first game.]]
* LatexSpaceSuit:
-->'''Ken:''' ''[to Gabby]'' Don't get me wrong, it's a beautiful bucket.. The whole suit is lovely, quite snug in all the right places...\\
'''Tali:''' You ''know'' [[ImStandingRightHere I can hear you]]!
* LostForever: Like Garrus, link up with her in ''2'' or forever hold your peace.
* TheKnightsWhoSaySquee: Towards Shepard. Upped in the later games. [[UpToEleven BIG time.]]
* [[spoiler:MadScientistsBeautifulDaughter]]: A literal example, even if she isn't evil at all. [[spoiler:Rael's experiments]] are morally questionable at best, and beyond the MoralEventHorizon to some.
* MamaBear: Even for a quarian, Tali is ''very'' dedicated to protecting the Migrant Fleet.
** Remarked upon in the second game. During her trial, various members of the crew of the ''Rayya'' are impressed that, despite being accused of treason and threatened with the possibility of exile, Tali's first thought was to safeguard the Fleet by embarking on a highly dangerous mission to secure the ''Alarei'' and eliminate the geth onboard.
** One of the reasons why she's reluctant to act on her feelings for male Shepard is that she's afraid of jeopardizing his mission by risking her health in pursuit of being with him. Shepard can then convince her that she's always been generous to a fault, and that just once, she should pursue her own happiness.
* MeaningfulRename: Despite the fact that "vas Normandy" is shoved onto her without her consent for political reasons, if she is exonerated, she still decides to keep her name as Tali'Zorah vas Normandy indicating her absolute loyalty and friendship with Shepard over any quarians.
* MildlyMilitary: She received military training on the Migrant Fleet and participates in military operations for the Admiralty Board in ''2'', but she's never identified by a rank and doesn't wear a uniform like the other Migrant Fleet Marines. She's also able to leave and join a renegade Spectre on a suicide mission simply by asking. [[spoiler: In ''3'', she actually does get an official military rank as an Admiral, but she says that she doesn't actually do any military commanding. She does, however, serve as an ambassador (to both the geth and the Citadel races) and a front line combatant]].
* MilitaryBrat: Due to her father being an Admiral in the quarian Fleet, Tali never saw much of him growing up. At the very least, she got the best military training in the Fleet, which explains her proficiency with a shotgun.
* MilitaryMaverick: [[spoiler: Has shades of this as an Admiral herself in the third game]].
* MotorMouth: She admits to this as a defense mechanism when she becomes nervous.
* MustNotDieAVirgin: Seems to be her motivation to "find a way before the last fight". It's no wonder that, if she survives to the third game, she doesn't end it alone.
* {{Nice G|uy}}irl: She's very polite, selfless, and forgiving. Shown especially in the third game, where she uses her connections in the Migrant Fleet to get a turian colony evacuated at the insistence of one of its former inhabitants, even though that same guy was a clerk on the Citadel who refused to let her into the Presidium, called her a "suit rat", and didn't even get her a doctor when she had a bullet in her arm. She notes that while she can rub in her current power to him, it wouldn't solve anything and would be immature.
* NobleBigot: Make no mistake -- as selfless and heroic as Tali is, she ''hates'' synthetic lifeforms. And she's one of the more ''open-minded'' quarians. Of course, this is a JustifiedTrope given her situation. Her people were driven off their home planet and nearly annihilated by their own created AI race, and the geth later [[spoiler:kill her father as well]]. The fact that the quarians started it aside, Tali has more than a few reasons to be distrustful of if not hostile towards, say, [[spoiler:Legion]]. Later, thanks to CharacterDevelopment, the aforementioned open-mindedness pays off. [[spoiler: The player's choices can make her be more friendly to Legion, sparking a friendly NotSoDifferent situation in the third game to resolve the whole quarian/geth conflict. Doing so factors in to the potential for reconciliation between the geth and quarians]].
* NotSoDifferent: From a Spacer Shepard, since both are {{Military Brat}}s whose parents eventually became an Admiral of their respective fleet. Even more-so when/if she becomes a high-ranked member of the hierarchy whom even higher-ups defer to.
* OddFriendship: In ''3'', it seems that she and Legion have been in communication, and it's clear that they develop a strange fondness for one another even after the other admirals lead the quarians back into war with the geth. [[spoiler: If Legion "dies" to give the geth true sentience and peace is achieved, Tali mentions that in lamenting all the people she watched die, she's mourning even Legion, "how weird is that?"]]
* [[OnlySaneMan Only Sane Woman]]: Behind Jacob [[spoiler:and Legion]], Tali is one of the more sensible crewmembers on the ''Normandy'' in VideoGame/MassEffect2, [[NobleBigot though she still has her issues.]] [[spoiler:[[CharacterDevelopment At least until Mass Effect 3]]]].
* OptionalPartyMember: Just like Thane, Samara, Grunt, Zaeed, Kasumi and [[spoiler: Legion]] (i.e. non-DLC, post-Horizon squadmates), you can complete [[VideoGame/MassEffect2 the second game]] without her. [[PlotTailoredToTheParty Doing this will come back to haunt you, though...]]
* OrgasmicCombat: Her french acting.
* OutOfFocus: Ironically, while her relevance to the plot grows bigger in the second and third games, her role in both of them comes much later than in the first where she was recruited after only two missions. In ''2'' she appears early on but is forced to take off due to the fact that she's in the middle of undertaking a mission for her people and she doesn't return until halfway through the game leading her to be absent for a good portion. Likewise ''3'' has Shepard busy with helping the turians and krogan and later dealing with the Cerberus coup, leading her to not return until halfway through the story once again.
** That said, despite all of that, she and Garrus are the only two squadmates that can fight alongside Shepard across all three games.
* PardonMyKlingon: She uses the term "bosh'tet" from time to time. [[BilingualBonus Which is similar to the Hebrew word for "shameful one" or a way to saying "shit" in portuguese.]]
* [[spoiler:PairTheSpares: If your Male Shepard does not romance Tali in Mass Effect 3, she will end up with Garrus]].
** [[spoiler: When you consider that Garrus is essentially a ''Paragade'' Shepard, it makes sense that she's attracted to those qualities. Not to mention the convenience of sharing similar body chemistry]].
* PleaseDontLeaveMe: [[spoiler: In the Extended Cut DLC, if you've got a romanced Tali accompanying you to the final run to the Crucible, she will end up critically injured in an explosion. Shepard will, in turn, have the other companion get her aboard the Normandy safely, prompting her to invoke this trope. You can either [[VideoGameCaringPotential give her one final, tender, heartfelt goodbye]]...or [[VideoGameCrueltyPotential say she'll just get in your way]].]]
* [[spoiler:PlotlineDeath: Can suffer this in ''[=ME2=]'', at which point she does not appear in ''[=ME3=]''. Can also suffer this in ''[=ME3=]'', depending on your choices during the re-ignited quarian/geth war.]]
* PopCulturalOsmosisFailure: Falls prey to several of these from the human crew, but finally gets to turn the tables in the ''Citadel DLC'', when romanced Shepard fails to get her reference to ''Fleet and Flotilla'', her favourite film/musical. The clip of the vid the player sees reveals she'd been quoting it directly in several of her romance scenes, and Shepard unknowingly did the right responses.
* PrecisionFStrike:
** When she's truly mad, she tends to use the term "bosh'tet," a quarian curse. She ''screams'' it at Kai Leng if she's brought along to Thessia.
** Taking her along to the [[spoiler: Cerberus Headquarters]] reveals that she's not afraid of using human curse words, either.
---> '''Tali:''' Choke on it, [[spoiler:Cerberus]] bastards!
* PoweredArmour: The quarian suits are a peculiar version of this. In the first game, Tali has ridiculously high shields, while her alternate appearance in ''2'' comes with a targeting scanner on her mask and in ''3'', one of her outfits gives her faceplate a ''blast-shield''.
* RankUp: [[spoiler:She is an Admiral in the third game]].
* [[spoiler: ReasonableAuthorityFigure: Technically becomes this in ''Mass Effect 3'', even if her position as an Admiral is mostly ceremonial. She's still very helpful if you want to broker peace between the quarians and geth]].
* RedOniBlueOni: Some people see her as blue, with [[LoveableRogue Kasumi]] being the Red Oni. Tali, [[BewareTheNiceOnes though she has her moments]], is kind, calm, and uses her [[TheEngineer considerable skills]] to aid others. Kasumi is upbeat, [[GenkiGirl energetic]], and uses her considerable talents for [[ClassyCatBurglar thievery and espionage]].
* ReassignmentBackfire:
** [[spoiler:When the Admiralty Board accuses her of treason, they officially change her ship from the ''Neema'' to the ''Normandy'', in hopes of publicly ostracizing her from the fleet and under the impression that Shepard would do a substandard job of defending her]].
** The Paragon ending to this has Shepard go PapaWolf[=/=]MamaBear on the entire quarian Admiralty board, fuming that they would even ''consider'' to exile Tali after everything she's done, which was help save the entire damn ''galaxy''. The middle option gets the entire crowd on her side. In the Renegade outcome, Shepard calls them flat out on their "political bullshit." The Admirals meekly decide to acquit her of all charges. After which, [[UndyingLoyalty she decides to keep the name "vas Normandy"]].
---> '''Shepard:''' We could still go back and get you exiled, if you want.\\
'''Tali''': ''[laughs]'' Hah! Thanks, but I'm fine with things like this. It's fun watching you shout.
* RefugeInAudacity: Calling an admiral a bosh'tet in the middle of her trial. To be fair, news of her father's possible death was intentionally withheld from her by said admirals.
* RelationshipUpgrade: Potentially with Male Shepard in the second game.
* RescueRomance:
** It even gets [[LampshadeHanging lampshaded]] by Tali that she often gets rescued by Shepard; not that she can't handle herself, but it certainly helped kick-start her feelings for him.
** Is done in reverse as well when she saves Shepard in the third game -- that is, [[spoiler: if you side with the quarians in their conflict with the geth]]. Also happens on the Geth Dreadnought, where Tali saves Shepard from falling to his/her death when the elevator is damaged by a rocket.
** The casual way in ''2'' that a Male Paragon Shepard states the reason for showing up to rescue Tali from an army of geth. Be honest, who ''wouldn't'' fall a little in love with him at that point?
---> '''Shepard''': I was in the neighborhood... thought you might need a hand?
** Inverted again in the Citadel DLC.
--->''[Tali kills two {{mook}}s]''\\
'''Tali''': [[RunningGag Did you really fall through the fish tank?]]\\
'''Shepard''': We'll talk about it later.\\
'''Tali''': Do you remember back when ''you'' used to rescue ''me'' in the wards?\\
'''Shepard''': We'll talk about it ''later''.
* RequiredPartyMember: In ''VideoGame/MassEffect3'', [[spoiler:the first and last missions of the Rannoch arc]].
* SetAMookToKillAMook: She can hack synthetic enemies and get them to kill each other. This includes [[GiantMook Geth Primes,]] [[SpiderTank Geth Armatures,]] [[MiniMecha Atlas Mechs]], and [[MoreDakka all types of turrets.]] Like most powers, it was nerfed heavily in the second game (it was considered overpowered in the first due to almost half of the game's enemies being synthetic), but was buffed again in the third (mainly in extending its functionality to screw up organic enemy weapons and covering both functions under the umbrella name "Sabotage").
* SinsOfOurFathers: [[spoiler:Her character quest in [=ME2=] centers around her being held responsible for her father's geth experiments -- actually a convenient smokescreen for the admirals to discuss the issue of going to war with the geth]].
* ShockAndAwe: She could use Overload in the first game. This was replaced by Energy Drain in the second and third games, which is unique to her, except for potentially Shepard. Energy Drain buffs her own shields in addition to draining enemy shields[[note]]in the third game, it also stuns enemies hit by hit for a few seconds[[/note]], but lacks the [[ChainLightning certain]] offensive properties that Overload gains in the third game.
* ShootTheDog: [[spoiler: If you can't broker peace between the quarians and the geth, then you must choose one of the two. If you choose the quarians, then Legion will knock Shepard down, strangle him/her, and hold him/her over the edge of a cliff. Tali then stabs it. In Legion's final moments, Tali tells it that she's sorry and that it does have a soul; if it's the Geth VI she tells him that "Legion would have understood" (she is mistaken)]].
* ShotgunsAreJustBetter: Well, she thinks so.
* ShrinkingViolet: In her romance with Shepard in the second game. She gets more confident and flirtatious in the third.
** She's actually quite snippy. You sass her, she'll gladly return fire. Just ask Wrex.
** Also, keep in mind that she isn't generally shy and is perfectly capable of having a conversation without stuttering or getting nervous. It's just Shepard's advances that make her nervous. And not even because of how forward he is; she's just looking out for his mission and doesn't want to pursue him at the expense of getting sick and not being able to help him.
* SiblingRivalry: If romanced in the sequels, after previously romancing Ashley in the first, both see the other as a sister. Bringing them both onto the Geth Dreadnought however, shows that they have some friction over their mutual feelings for Shepard (unless you commit to Tali beforehand).
* SkilledButNaive: When Shepard first meets her, Tali has survived numerous encounters with geth and Saren's forces, but was easily lured into an ambush set by Fist and the Shadow Broker.
* TheSmartGuy: The tech and engineering expert.
* SoleSurvivor: Loses her entire unit on Haestrom, with the possible exception of Kal'Reegar.
* SomethingOnlyTheyWouldSay: How she can potentially realize that, yes, that is Shepard standing in front of her in the beginning of the second game. Only s/he would know about how she got the geth data for her Pilgrimage. This depends on whether you ''did'' give her the geth data way back in the first game.
* [[SquishyWizard Squishy Technician]]: Her tech powers can be incredibly useful when trying to mezz enemies, especially when dealing with synthetics, but her physical durability is pretty poor, due in part to the general fragility of her suit and (in [=ME1=] at least) the rarity of her armor upgrades. In ''VideoGame/MassEffect1'' this is balanced out by pouring points into her Electronics skill and her "Quarian Machinist" Class skill, which increases her shields to the point where she can survive pretty much the whole game with the same suit she started with; in the later games, she's a bit more durable in general and gets a loyalty power that drains enemies' shields or synthetics' health and replenishes (or even overcharges) her own shields.
* StatuesqueStunner: She is the tallest female squad-mate, only a few centimeters shorter than M!Shep. Especially when you consider the fact that quarians are generally slighter and shorter than humans. To quarians, Tali may be something of a giantess.
* SubordinateExcuse: The second game reveals that she goes with Shepard just as much to be around him as to save the galaxy.
* TalkingLightbulb: What with being a quarian and all.
* TemptingFate: "Commander Shepard, this is Admiral Zaal'Koris vas Qwib-Qwib. ''[-- Do not ask about the name --]''." Guess what's one of the dialog options immediately after she says that?
* TerrifiedOfGerms: Given the quarians' weak immune system, this is rather serious concern. She's not as terrified as most of her race though, since she actively attempts to find ways to overcome this handicap in order to be intimate with a Male Shepard.
** She also expresses that she'd be willing to join suits with [=FemShep=], though it appears to be more about trusting her with her life, than actual romantic interest. Probably.
* TertiarySexualCharacteristics: She wears purple, and her hood emulates the basic shape of feminine long hair (as do all female quarians' hoods).
* ToAbsentFriends: Regarding ''Miranda'' of all people, [[spoiler:if the latter doesn't survive Sanctuary in the third game (she has the same scene if Miranda survives, but it doesn't fit the trope)]].
-->'''Tali:''' Nice job, you genetically perfect Cerberus cheerleader ''bosh'tet. Keelah se'lai.''
* TokenGoodTeammate: In ''2'', is among the few party members who is not an AntiHero.
* TookALevelInBadass: At the beginning of the first game, (despite being 22), she essentially is a teenager in over her head, on the run from a few thugs. Come the third game -- three years, more or less, in-universe -- and she is [[spoiler:''an Admiral of the Fleet'']].
** Also occurred between the beginning and end of ''Mass Effect 1''. At the start, she was merely able to hold her own against a trio of regular assassins, and required Shepard's help to escape the situation alive. By the end of it she, like every other party member, is an army-crushing terror in gameplay, and in-story (at least according to her final conversation with Garrus in VideoGame/MassEffect3), she was able to rack up more kills against heavily armed and advanced geth infantry on Ilos than Garrus Vakarian himself.
* TranquilFury: Cerberus tends to be a calming influence on Tali. It makes more sense if you read the tie-in novel ''Literature/MassEffectAscension'', which details the events which made the quarians hate Cerberus.
-->(to Jacob)I don't know who you are, but Cerberus threatened the security of the Migrant Fleet. Don't make nice. [...] I assumed you were undercover, Shepard. Maybe even planning to blow Cerberus up. If that's the case, I'll lend you a grenade.\\
(After listening to the Illusive Man talking about how to manipulate Shepard into trusting him) He needs to die.
* {{Tsundere}}:
** After Shepard affirms he still wants to be in a relationship with her in the third game, she becomes much more relaxed around him, to the point that she starts displaying some of these traits.
--->'''Tali''': I thought I'd lost you.\\
'''Shepard''': You were worried?\\
'''Tali''': You bet I was! You dying because the geth overrode my hack? Think of my reputation!\\
'''Shepard''': You were worried.
** In ''Leviathan'', if romanced, she actually ''scolds'' Shepard for [[spoiler: diving into the depths of the ocean to [[DidWeJustHaveTeaWithCthulhu speak with Leviathan]]]], since she was left worrying like crazy until he got back.
** In the Extended Cut, [[spoiler:Tali is one of the love interests that implores Shepard to come back alive. The other one is Garrus]].
* UnderestimatingBadassery: The Shadow Broker in ''2'' has a unique comment for each potential party member about how valuable eliminating them and Shepard would be. But Tali? He's ''surprised'' Liara brought her along, what with her [[EverybodysDeadDave botched research mission]] on Haestrom. Though he could just be trying to press her BerserkButton.
* UndyingLoyalty: Best summed up in three simple words:
--> '''Tali''': Thank you... '''Captain'''.
* UnwittingPawn: To the Illusive Man, like so many others. The Illusive Man originally wanted to keep Tali away from Shepard like he did the rest of the original squad. That only changed when her cooperation with Shepard on Freedom's Progress convinced the Illusive Man that Tali was a factor he could control. He then used her to bolster Shepard's loyalty to Cerberus and to gain intel on the Migrant Fleet. Ironically, this may have saved Tali's life.
* ViolentlyProtectiveGirlfriend: Gets a hint of this in the third game provided Shepard romanced her, especially if she [[spoiler: kills Legion.]] Also, she has four very simple words to say once [[spoiler: the files at the Cerberus Base reveal how The Illusive Man manipulated Shepard into seeing Cerberus as sympathetic]].
-->'''Tali''': He needs to die.
* VitriolicBestBuds: With Garrus: Will snark at each other at any given opportunity, but they are shown to care for each other. [[spoiler: If Shepard doesn't romance her, by 3 it is shown to be BelligerentSexualTension.]]
* VocalEvolution: At the very beginning of the first game, Liz Sroka hadn't quite settled the nuances yet; Tali's voice was higher and has less of an accent. Her performance from the second game on is uniform. She also sounds a lot more expressive with her emotions; notably so in her TearJerker scenes.
* WasItReallyWorthIt: [[spoiler: If the quarians reclaim Rannoch violently rather than by making peace with the geth in ''VideoGame/MassEffect3'', she wonders if it was really worth exterminating a potential ally and personally killing a friend]].
* [[WellDoneSonGuy "Well Done, Daughter" Gal]]: Tali is sure her father loves her, but regardless is said to be rather distant, and probably has similar expectations for her as much as everyone else. And if you don't hug her during her loyalty mission, she remarks on how her father never used his "sick days" to show her his face... She's also not very happy that [[spoiler:his dying message essentially was just giving her orders]], remarking that she's not sure whether he didn't care at all, or this is the only way he could show it.
** Comes across in the third game when she gets hammered on turian brandy and admits in a conversation with Shepard that one of the reasons she admires Miranda is because she ''never'' changed herself to please ''her'' father. Even if half the time she was a "Cerberus Cheerleader Bosh'tet".
** If romanced she also comments that she's getting drunk with her boyfriend. Her ''human'' boyfriend.
---> '''Tali''': My father would have ''hated'' you.
* WhatTheHellHero: She ''will'' call Shepard out if he/she betrays her trust.
** She also reacts that way when she finds out Shepard is working for Cerberus, has a functional AI on board, or recruits [[spoiler: Legion]]. She was under the impression that Shepard had been working undercover and was planning to blow them up... [[ViolentlyProtectiveGirlfriend she was even going to offer a grenade.]]
** In the first game Shepard can call her out on her attempts to justify the quarians' attempted genocide of the geth when the geth became sentient (an action that led to the civil war that resulted in the quarians fleeing their homeworld).
** She's ''furious'' when Garrus innocently suggests using the standard turian tactic of [[ColonyDrop orbital bombardment]] to eliminate the geth troops on Rannoch, pointing out that the quarians have waited centuries to return home and he wants to leave bits of it uninhabitable by throwing ''rocks'' at it!
* [[WhatWouldXDo What Would Shepard Do?]]:
** Not as much as Garrus, but she tries, to the point of trying to emulate Shepard's [[NiceJobBreakingItHero nice job with the mining laser]] back on Therum with demolition charges. We'll just assume she forgot about how that kind of blew up in Shepard's face when s/he tried it... but hey, it still got Shepard what s/he wanted.
** Another example: When trying to help a fellow quarian on Illium who sold herself into indentured servitude to pay off stock market debts, Tali will follow Shepard's lead if you try to charm/intimidate a Synthetic Insights rep into buying her contract, offering increased business with the Migrant Fleet if you use Charm, or threatening to park said Migrant Fleet on top of the Synthetic Insights headquarters if you use Intimidate.
*** In 3, she'll state flat-out that [[spoiler: the only reason she took the Admiral position]] was because she thought Shepard would do the same thing in her position.
* WhenYouComingHomeDad: Makes it very clear that she was never close to her father in childhood. Though that is sort of expected if your father is part of the leadership council for your entire race.
-->'''Tali:''' I don't care what he would have wanted, Shepard! I wanted a father who cared about me more than his war effort. I wanted a father who would take the sick-leave time and let me see his face without a helmet in the way. Instead, I got orders. And this. And a panel of admirals who think I'm a traitor. Those were my father's gifts to me.
* WhyDidItHaveToBeSnakes:
** If she is [[http://youtu.be/ZIQ-iGF1t-4 brought along]] for the rachni sidequest in ''3'', she makes it clear she does not like crawlies. By freaking out when attacked by swarmers and screaming "Spiders ''spiders spiders '''spiiiiiiiiiders!!'''''" A later conversation with Garrus reveals she's felt this way since day one. If you have the Mass Effect: Datapad iOS app, she even sends you an email on the subject.
--->'''Tali:''' Spiders, Shepard. Seriously. Spiders.
** Which makes sense if you brought her with you to Noveria in the first game. She's particularly vulnerable to rachni acid attacks back then (since their acid attacks bypass her otherwise [[StoneWall absurdly strong shields]]), [[spoiler: and that was ''before'' the Reapers [[FateWorseThanDeath made husks out of them]]]].
* WorstWhateverEver: How she sums up the Citadel DLC BusmansHoliday. "Worst. Shore leave. Ever."
* WorthIt:
** Tali's response when she gets sick after her relationship with Shepard becomes intimate.
** Which gets a CallBack in 3.
--->'''Tali:''' And [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EaPdGMxFSv0#t=19m43s for the record]]? Still ''totally'' WorthIt.
* WrenchWench: Quarians are the whole race of incredibly skilled engineers. And ''even among the quarians'', she is counted one of the best engineers and geth specialists. Note that it's not an InformedAbility. She is as skilled with technology as Legion and Kasumi. In other words, her level of tech-savvy rivals [[spoiler:over a thousand linked geth programs]] and the best human thief in the galaxy.
* YamatoNadeshiko: Believe it or not, Tali could be viewed as having shades of this. She's self-sacrificing, is very nice, is the most moral teammate of a Mass Effect 2 "squad" that mostly contains criminals and killers, the hood on her helmet resembles long hair, and for all her Action Girl tendencies she tends to ultimately defer to Shepard's judgment. [[spoiler: And she prioritizes her people above everything else, ''even her (optional) relationship with Shepard'': if you allow the quarians to get wiped out, relationship or not, Tali will commit suicide]].
* YouCantGoHomeAgain: In the second game, [[spoiler: Tali can be exiled from the Flotilla for treason. This doesn't stop the Admirals from calling on her during their assault on the geth in 3, but she admits she's their "dirty secret". It also keeps you from making peace between the two sides, as she must be an Admiral for that]].
* TheUnreveal: Go ahead, romance her in ''2''. See how sadistic Bioware can be.
** Close-ups do give you some view of her eyes and nose behind the mask. She looks rather human.
** If you romance her in Mass Effect 3 you get [[http://masseffect.wikia.com/wiki/File:Taliface.png a photo of her unmasked]]. [[spoiler: She actually looks very close to human, with some dark lines along her neck and three-fingered hands. She even has human-like hair. But also glowing eyes. The dark lines are also not exclusive to the neck, she has some on her forehead too, linking to her eyebrows]].
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