#c: kai shepard

[noodlini]

They’re gay btw. If you even care

[urzfanclub]

if i stuck the canon timeline in a blender i would do it just once only so kai and maya are on the same base while maya is defecting w the clone

[dragonflight203]

Mass Effect 3 replay, Cerberus Coup:

-One of the best parts of ME3 is followed by one of the worst. I really, really dislike this mission.

-The entire premise of this mission is weak.

Why does Udina trust Cerberus?

Whatever else he may be, Udina has been consistently dedicated to humanity. Cerberus has been attacking human colonies and harming the war effort. Udina should consider them a mortal enemy.

And this occurs just after Shepard secured turian (and implicitly krogan) support for Earth. Even the STG is promising support. This is a high point in the war. Udina should not be at his most desperate.

-Thane is the one who tells you what is going on and that C-Sec HQ has been seized by Cerberus. How does this play out if Thane is dead?

-It seems a bit odd that C-Sec is completely disorganized without HQ. They should still be able to coordinate by radio, etc. without it.

And there are no other C-Sec buildings they could fall back to? Everything is run out of the Presidium HQ?

There are five wards. Each one is huge. You expect me to believe that C-Sec doesn’t have at least one building per ward? They probably have multiple!

I can see there being chaos in the initial attack, but they should be able to regroup and make a counterattack.

-Shepard, in regards to the C-Sec agents shot in the back of the head: Cerberus likes their sleeper agents.

And yet you keep taking personal offense when people question your loyalties after you openly worked for Cerberus for an extended period.

-Nearly all the C-Sec corpses are human.

This deeply annoys me. C-Sec is notable for an interspecies organization; if I recall correctly in ME1 half of the force is turian. But all the corpses are human?

-Khalisa’s broadcast isn’t subtitled because Bioware’s motto in ME3 is “fuck you if you have hearing problems”.

-The Executor is human, because of course he is.

This is another major annoyance of mine. ME3 centers humanity too much. The theme is supposed to be bringing the galaxy together, but the small text seems to be “under human leadership”.

Who is attacking C-Sec? Humans. Who are we working with to defend it? Bailey, a human C-Sec officer. What corpses are in the building? Human corpses. Who is the C-Sec executor? A human.

It would help this mission a lot if the C-Sec agent we working with was asari/turian/salarian and the executor was another species. You know, something that would show the diversity of the galaxy coming together.

-Everything to do with Kai Leng is just bad.

Kai Leng could easily have shot the salarian Councilor before Shepard noticed him.

Thane could have shot Kai Leng instead of just holding the pistol to his head.

Anyone could have shot Kai Leng while he and Thane fought.

And the whole shuttle sequence is ridiculous.

Just, the game would be better without him.

-Another irritation: The Council acts so helpless during this mission.

All turian’s have mandatory military training and normally serve 15 years, but the turian Councilor doesn’t have a gun and just placidly takes orders from the spectre?

All asari have biotics, but the asari Councilor just lies there helplessly while Udina threatens her?

And of course Udina has a gun because in this mission only humans are allowed to have initiative.

Just, argh. This is so bad. This would have been an excellent opportunity to let them the other Councilors have a good moment.

-And the Council should be suspicious as hell.

Moments before, Shepard said if they opened the door Cerberus would poor through.

Then the doors open, and whose there? C-Sec. Human C-Sec officers, right after Udina tried to kill the asari Councilor.

A human C-Sec officer appointed by Udina personally. Assuring them that no, really, Cerberus was just here but vanished because we scared them off...

There should be so many red flags going off in the asari and turian Councilors heads. They should be insisting on a full investigation performed by non-human C-Sec officers at this point, not thanking Shepard.

-And finally, it’s the lack of consequences that frustrate me with this mission.

A human terrorist group attacked C-Sec. The human Councilor attempted to kill the other Councilors.

But does this result in increased suspicion of humanity? Is there more hostility? Does this harm the war effort?

As far as the games lets on, no. There are no negative consequences beside the Presidium being a bit shot up.

And that’d ridiculous. This should have a gigantic negative impact on humanity’s image in the galaxy. It should make uniting the other species to build the Crucible much, much harder.

Sure, humans stopped the coup but humans are also the reason for it. There should be debates raging on the street about whether or not to trust humanity. Maybe the full fallout would depend on Shepard’s reputation.

-Anyway, glad to have that over with.

[luckyashes-art]

Do you have any OCs other than your Splatoon ones? I'd love to learn about them!

WAAA ‼️‼️ I do actually !! Though I have . quite a lot of them 💀💀

Other than Splatoon OCs I got uhh-- primarily D&D OCs/Characters, Homestuck OCs, and a few actual original characters JDHSFSD some of which I've doodled and posted about before !

I'll stick a few of em down in the read more so the post isn't immediately unbearably long 🗣️‼️

Hmm let's start off with some original characters

Evix (they/them) is one that I've actually been working a lot more on lately !! They're kinda like an undead creature and live on essentially a post-apocalyptic Earth centuries later (might make a whole separate post on all that eventually because they're a part of an original species I wanna make)

Uhh then some original humans (w/ powers ofc) would include Anthony (he/him, one of my oldest OCs creation wise, in short a traumatized young adult with horrible anxiety and is struggling to get thru life 🗣️), Raymond and his niece Raven ( he/him & she/her, victims of loss of a brother and father (respectively), and they live in a world where ppl have elemental-based abilities !), and uhh Kacey (they/she/he, specifically with a c-- they're a cyborg (lost an arm) with no recollection of who they were (calls themself Kacey because of initials "K.C" branded on their robo arm (it stands for their actual name, Katya Cameron)))💥

[unfortunately not gonna doodle any of my other OCs so Evix can have special treatment LMAO]

Next up we got uhh some D&D characters !! [Who actually I have Hero Forge figures of so I'll add those]

Starting off with the first legit D&D character I've made, Glow of the Sun (aka "Sun" - she/her) 😼 Tabaxi Druid (Circle of the Shepard)!! After escaping the massacre of her tribe in the forest, Sun was taken in and mentored by a human druid named Sage (they/them)

Another one I got would be Gale (he/they), who's more-so inspired by my first attempt at a D&D character (who then got scrapped). But basically he's an Air Genasi Warlock (Pact of the Tome) that was raised only by his father until he managed to contact his mother (who was a djinn (an air genie) !! so yea, his patron's his mom LMAO [His Hero Forge is outdated so please keep that in mind ☹️ ]

Lets see ermm I also got !! A Dragonborn Artificer (Battle Smith) named Kai (real name Kazys) Tempest (she/her). Paralyzed from the waist down upon . hatching? She was left to be raised by her mother, which left the little dragonborn spiteful to show that she isn't useless. So she learned and became someone who creates things like prosthetics and kinds of aids to help others who may need it :D

I'll then drop off a last D&D character for now (cuz I rlly do have a lot), but this one's a personal favorite !! Meet Bone (she/he/they/it [does not care]), my funny lil Goblin Barbarian (Path of the Beast) !! Abandoned by her tribe and miraculously raised by a pack of wolves, this feral lil goblin spends her days living a free and wild life while causing problems for adventurers and the like who cross her path :3

Anddd onto the final stretch, we got some Homestuck OCs !! [Which btw I have models made by Xamag's Fantroll Creator (which I also edited a lil) so ermm]

Starting off with my personal fav, here's Arvenii Traket (she/her, Sign: Gemun, Derse + Breath). Goldblood with telekinetic psiionics, this smart(-ish) lil gamer is a hot-headed, anti-social introvert that enjoys things like cosplaying and programming 💥💥

Obviously then gotta follow up with her moirail, Teikai Dregut (he/him, Sign: Lenius, Prospit + Hope) !? A very idiotic yet excitable Oliveblood that loves to run, talk, play tricks, and hang out with his bestie (they tend to take care of each other otherwise they'd constantly not do things like eat or shower 💀)

What else uuuhhhh . How 'bout I drop Raiiko Ekneer (she/her, Sign: Scoriborn, Derse + Rage) !? A laidback, prideful brute of a Ceruleanbloodthat enjoys FLARPing and taking people's treasure/valuables 💥💥 Fun fact tho !! She used to FLARP with Teikai back in the day (he doesn't play anymore). Anyway she doesn't really have many braincells yet she managed to score a kismesis and moirail LMAO

And then I think I'll drop off her kismesis cuz ngl I rlly wanted to show them together 😩but meet Valeri Krovet (she/her, Sign: Sagigo, Prospit + Space) !! This Indigoblood is yet another blue business woman who specializes and takes pride in creating custom weapons of high quality. Can be a little snappy, mainly due to agitation of being on high alert 24/7 (had a gnarly, violent experience when she was younger), but yea :3

What if I was also silly tho and dropped the rest of my main HS OCs' lil models (i would talk abt all of them in more detail but thats A LOT of text ,) 🥴🥴

I do also wanna mention that I have. Ancestors and Dancestors for these guys as well . AS WELL AS OCS THAT ARENT APART OF THE MAIN 12-- Thats a whole other thing tho

BUT YEAH THAT'S JUST. SOME OF WHAT I GOT-- TY ANON FOR THE ASK-

This took so long to type LMAO but I enjoyed it !!

[thatdreadbitch]

Cassandra Grace Kryik-Shepard

So I realized that I never did a character sheet of sorts for my main Shepard oc. Or if I did its probably horribly out of date. I'm using @theshepcollective's layout for this

Backstory -Colonist Background- Sole Survivor of Akuze. Class - Soldier [pre alchera], Vanguard [Post Alchera] Alignment - 80% Paragon Lover(s).- Tela Vasir [former]; Kaidan Alenko and Garrus Vakarian; Best Friend(s)- Tali, Macen Barro, Drack Nackmor, the giant turian family that she was adopted into, Selena.

~~

Cassandra was born on Mindoir on April 11th, 2154. She grew up with her mother, step-father and an older half-brother until the Batarians raided Mindoir on her 15th Birthday and her biotics manifested. Fortunately for her, that day the spectres Nihlus Kryik and Saren Arterius were on Mindoir looking to investigate a prothean ruin that Cassandra was already headed towards to hide in. A misunderstanding lead to her biotically throwing the pair of Spectres into a nearby river when they tried to make sure she was okay after she fell out of a tree she had been hiding in. She helped them find the ruin they were looking for and in exchange they helped her escape the slaver raid, unable to save any of her friends and family. Once they got her away from the Slavers, they sent her to the Alliance Embassy on the Citadel so that she could find any remaining family she had that wasn't on the colony when it was attacked. The only family that could be found was her grandmother on Earth so Cassandra was sent to live with her in London. Within a month however, her step-grandfather would discover she was a biotic and kick her out onto the streets to fend for herself. Before long, she ended up on the Citadel working for the crime lord Fist just to survive since she was too young to enlist in the Alliance and there were very few legal jobs available to a human biotic. After a little less than a year of working for Fist to survive, she managed to escape that life when Nihlus adopted her after discovering that she was being wrongly accused of her friends murder on the condition that she stay out of trouble with with Citadel Security. Her official records list her as "Shepard" until the Collector Base when she ditches the name Shepard all together because in addition to Human-turian relations still being tense, Nihlus was worried that if her being his daughter was public knowledge then it would make her a target for anyone who wanted to hurt her to get in the way of his Spectre work. Saren agreed to help train Cassandra to use her biotics after learning about an incident in which she defenestrated Hackett and Anderson. She only enlisted in the Alliance at 18 because that was the only place she could work as a human biotic. After she goes to Nihlus for moral support after Akuze [before the alliance officially knows what thresher maws are], some poorly chosen words from Nihlus, she cut off contact with him and left the Alliance to work for C-Sec, only to return to the Alliance when Hackett offered her an N7 recommendation to the villa where after defenestrating Kai Leng, she gained a reputation for throwing people that tried to threaten her. Alec Ryder was her mentor ion N7 school. She's a soldier up until Alchera when she was given a overcharged amp with Project Lazarus [the records that Cerberus had been given were forged post-mortem to cast Cassandra in a better light in the event they were leaked in full to the public] when she accidentally killed Miranda and Jacob and switches to Vanguard, horrified at what she had been turned into. When she got to the Citadel post-Alchera the only people she would talk to were Nihlus, Lexi, Macen and Tela'Vasir. She didn't believe in the Reapers until Virmire and was pissed when Anderson made her mention the visions in the reports because she knew they would make her seem crazy. She is in a throuple with Garrus and Kaidan. After Alchera she makes an agreement with the Council to spy on Cerberus and because Alchera was to be her last mission in the Alliance, she spends her house arrest on the Citadel since only the Council had jurisdiction over her as a Spectre. Another Spectre was sent to the Bahak System to clean up the Alliance's mess. Cassandra also kills Balak as revenge since he personally killed her parents during the raid.

[chrancecriber]

Antenne Vorarlberg Chillout Lounge (July 18, 2023)

23:57 Beyhude - Alabora 23:55 Dimitri Vegas - Pull Me Closer 23:50 The Funky Lowlives - Time To Let Go 23:46 Lstn - Sky & Sand 23:43 Kygo & Tina Turner - What's Love Got To Do With It 23:39 Alan Walker - Alone (Restrung) 23:37 Yves V X Bashkar - Halfway (Feat. Twan Ray) 23:30 Leftfield - Original 23:27 Nora En Pure - Life On Hold 23:25 Nathan Evans - Wellerman (220 Kid X Billen Ted Remix) 23:21 Air - Talisman 23:18 Carstn & Ten Tonne Skeleton - Safety Dance 23:14 Schiller - Midnight In Shiraz 23:08 Jody Wisternoff Feat. Sian Evans - The Bridge (Chicane Rework) 23:02 The Last Atlant - Twin Of The Sun 22:59 Mike Candys & Jack Holiday - Saltwater (Rework) 22:55 Liberdade - Otra Vida 22:52 Kai Schwarz, Cayus & Yass - My Love Is Your Love 22:48 Arty Feat. Cimo Fränkel - Daydreams (Sultan Shepard Echoes) 22:43 Les Negresses Vertes - Face A La Mer 22:40 Blank & Jones Feat. Mick Roach - Magnolia 22:35 Buttha - Oceanic (Original Mix) 22:32 Dj Antoine Feat. Craig Smart - Good Vibes (Good Feeling) (Dj Antoine Vs Mad Mark 2k19 Mix) 22:28 Duboss - Losing My Religion 22:23 Aisen - Another Day 22:20 Chicane Feat. Bryan Adams - Don't Give Up 22:17 York - On The Beach (Kryder & Jenjammin Sax Edit) 22:10 Sans Souci - Seaside (Extended Mix) 22:07 Chaël Feat Kaii - Don't Speak 22:04 Cotone - Faded Glory 22:02 Robert Manos - With No End 21:58 Sneaker Pimps - 6 Underground 21:56 Felix Jaehn & The Stickmen Project Feat. Calum Scott - Rain In Ibiza 21:49 Jan Blomqvist - The Space In Between 21:46 Melokind - Tiefgang 21:43 Lucas Estrada, Twopilots - Bloom 21:40 Brando - Don't Call Me (Galantis Remix) 21:37 Alok Feat. Alida - Love Again 21:33 Jan Blomqvist, Elena Pitoulis - More (Original Mix) 21:31 Carstn, Jason Walker - Could You Love Me (Munich Monstrs Remix) 21:23 Armin Van Buuren & Avira Feat. Sam Martin - Mask 21:20 Sam Feldt - Post Malone (Feat. Rani) 21:17 Kungs Feat. Jhart - Dopamine 21:11 Airstream - Your Tears (Del Mar Mix) 21:08 Justin Robertson Presents Revtone - Love Movement 21:04 Monoir, Eneli - 3 To 1 21:01 Martin Trevy Feat. Hedara - Talking To The Silence 20:57 Blank & Jones - Flaming June 20:54 Lucas Estrada & Henri Purnell & Neimy - In My Fantasy 20:49 Ohm-g - Hulectric Soul 20:46 Nora Van Elken - Sumatra (Lstn Remix) 20:43 Hallmann - Always Be 20:37 Parra For Cuva Feat. Anna Naklab - Wicked Games 20:34 Bolier & Arman Cekin - Fade Away (Feat. Rhi'n'b) 20:31 Sum Wave - Backyard Stories 20:28 Kygo Feat. Ellie Goulding - First Time 20:25 Alle Farben & Flynn - I Need To Know 20:22 Passenger 10 - Serving The World 20:18 Avicii - For A Better Day 20:11 David Hohme - Fear Less (Hraach Remix) 20:08 Hagen Feetly - Cry 20:05 Lost Frequencies, Janieck Devy - Reality 20:02 Tomas Skyldeberg - Outside The Window 19:59 Night Cruzer - Timeless 19:56 Dj Antoine & Dead-line - Shout 19:52 Ck West & Sassi K - C Song 19:47 Mahoroba - Chimes In Motion (Passion Cut) 19:43 Edx Feat. Jess Ball - Take Me Home 19:40 Glockenbach - Dirty Dancing 19:37 El Profesor - Bella Ciao (Hugel Remix) 19:35 Mila Feat. Uwe Worlitzer - Teil Von Mir 19:32 Junge, Junge Feat. Jamie Hartma - Wicked Hearts 19:28 Lenny Ibizarre - Pretty As You Feel 19:24 Nora En Pure - Dry Sobbing 19:21 Gibbs - Waiting For Lonely 19:18 Tainted Youth Feat. Lucinda - Teardrops 19:15 Purple Disco Machine - Hypnotized 19:12 Calvin Harris Feat. Sam Smith - Promises 19:07 Scotty & Wilcox - Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (Wilcox Extended) 19:04 Consoul Trainin Feat. Steven Aderinto & Duoviolins - Obsession 18:58 Milan Euringer And Tube & Berger - Lovebreak 18:54 Trinix - Vision Deluxe 18:52 Mellowdy - Rise Up 18:47 Moca - Kleine Träumerei 18:44 Edx & Amba Shepherd - Off The Grid 18:41 Vize & Leony - Dolly Song (Devil's Cup) 18:37 Sise - The Rain (Where Do I Begin) 18:33 Kyla La Grange - Cut Your Teeth 18:27 Dale Anderson Feat. Anil Chawla - Pimento Grove 18:23 Chubbanak Club - Candysnow 18:20 Mount & Emdey - Venus 18:15 Loopaland - Born To Be Alive 18:12 Majestic & Boney M. - Rasputin 18:09 Hypnosis - Pulstar 18:03 Chicane - Offshore 17:58 Elderbrook & Bob Moses - Inner Light 17:56 The Holy Santa Barbara Feat. Madugo - The Sailor Song 17:49 Adana Twins - Strange 17:45 Mandala Dreams - Mirror Lake 17:42 Sans Souci - Nanda 17:36 Sunlounger & Zara - Lost (Chillout) 17:33 Topic, Robin Schulz, Nico Santos, Paul Van Dyk - In Your Arms (For An Angel) 17:30 Lucy Neville - Ransom 17:24 4 Wing - Penelope 17:21 Loud Luxury And Frank Walker Feat. Stephen Puth - Like Gold 17:15 Esteban Garcia - Para Mi 17:12 Blank & Jones Feat. Coralie Clément - Cest Mieux 17:09 Glockenbach Ft. Clockclock - Brooklyn 17:06 Calvin Harris & Disciples - How Deep Is Your Love 17:02 Alex Breitling - Lilie 16:53 Christopher Von Deylen - Heaven Can Wait 16:49 Spanish Armada Movement - Margarita 16:46 Jeremy Loops - Til I Found You 16:42 Cats On Bricks Feat. Zach Alwin - Planes Over Ushuaia 16:38 Vintage Culture And Rooftime - I Will Find 16:36 Feder & Ofenbach Feat. Dawty Music - Call Me Papi 16:34 Colorblast - Message In A Bottle (Colorblast Version) 16:30 Blank & Jones - Grown Minds 16:28 Digital Camel - Shine Bright 16:23 Boozoo Bajou Feat. Wayne Martin - Moanin' 16:15 Miyagi, Sascha Braemer, Dan Caster, Jan Blomqvist - Woodpeckers Love Affair 16:08 Monolink - Don't Hold Back 16:02 Fous De La Mer - Vue Sur La Mer 15:59 Backstreet Boys - Chances (Instrumental) 15:53 Nora En Pure - Thermal (Extended Mix) 15:49 Oovee Feat. Alesha Dixon - Higher Love 15:41 Blond:ish Feat. Bahramji - Omnipresent 15:37 Alina Baraz & Galimatias - Fantasy (Felix Jaehn Remix) 15:34 Nightmares On Wax - Passion 15:31 Lizot - Daddy Cool 15:28 Filous - Let It Snow (Original Mix) 15:23 Sphere - I Fly Away 15:16 Soul Button - Circadian Rhythm (Hraach Remix) 15:13 Melosense - Polarization (Original Mix) 15:10 Lost Frequencies X James Arthur - Questions 15:08 Twisted Harmonies Feat. Mougleta - You & Me 15:04 Alle Farben - Berlin 15:01 Kush Kush & Sickmellow Feat. Kazhi - Blacklight 14:59 Atb & Topic - Your Love (9pm) 14:53 Oliver Koletzki - A Tribe Called Kotori 14:50 Felix Jaehn Feat. Zoe Wees - Do It Better 14:47 Sunnery James & Ryan Marciano - Let It Lie 14:44 Mark Brown - The Journey Continues (Acoustic Version) 14:41 Alle Farben & Fools Garden - Lemon Tree 14:38 Hbz, Anna Grey & Agent Zed - Aloha Hey 14:35 Drenchill Ft. Indiiana - Hey Hey 14:29 Goa Foundation - (I Just) Died In Your Arms Tonight 14:25 Mind Against, Dyzen - Freedom 14:22 Sam Feldt & Sam Fischer - Pick Me Up (Vavo Remix) 14:18 Ac Venture - Rain In Spain (Roberto Sol Remix) 14:11 Desert Dwellers - Union 14:03 Maxim Lany - Riding The Wave (Extended Mix) 14:00 R3hab & Marnik - Candyman 13:54 Sherrie Lea - No Ordinary Love (Arnold T Chill Mix) 13:52 Meduza Feat. Goodboys - Piece Of Your Heart 13:48 Eli & Fur - Come Back Around 13:45 Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike Vs. Diplo Feat. Deb's Daughter - Hey Baby 13:42 Klingande & Bright Sparks - Messiah 13:37 Tinlicker Feat. Roos Jonker - Come Back Home 13:33 Feder Feat. Emmi - Blind 13:30 Blank & Jones - Swept Away 13:26 Patchy - Friend (Original Mix) 13:23 Clément Leroux - Memories 13:20 Dante Klein & Jordiz Feat. Megan Brands - Life 13:17 I Will, I Swear - Long Days 13:13 Nihoni - After Sun 13:10 Shouse - Won't Forget You 13:06 Karen Gibson Roc - Painted Room 13:03 Emily Burns - Im So Happy 13:00 Hanns Feat. Lu - Chemistry 12:56 The Chainsmokers & Coldplay - Something Just Like This 12:53 Winona Oak & Robin Schulz - Oxygen 12:48 Lstn - Times Of Sorrow 12:44 Kungs Feat. R I T U A L - You Remain 12:41 Nora En Pure - Fibonacci 12:37 Lemongrass - Habla Mi Corazon 12:35 Mount & Illian - Fool 12:29 Pete Tong & Tale Of Us Feat. Jules Buckley - Time 12:22 Hansi Lang - Perfect Day (Smacs & Patrick Kong Remix) 12:15 Beyhude - Akasha 12:12 Together Alone - Ain't Nobody 12:08 James Bright - Siempre 12:03 Schiller - Free The Dragon 11:56 Armen Miran & Hraach - Gravitation 11:52 Shaun Feat. Conor Maynard - Way Back Home 11:49 Nora Van Elken - Mount Fuji 11:46 Lucy Neville - Shameless 11:39 Oxia - Harmonie 11:36 Blank & Jones - Coastline 11:32 Alan Walker & Gavin James - Tired (Kygo Remix) 11:27 Fous De La Mer - Luces 11:20 Nora En Pure - Oblivion (Extended Mix) 11:14 Mollono.bass, Ava Asante - Feeling Good 11:11 Agatino Romero - I'm Feeling For You 11:05 Beyhude - Rüzgar 11:02 Calvin Harris Feat. Sam Smith - Promises 10:59 Topic Feat. Nico Santos) - Home (Alle Farben Remix) 10:54 Tinlicker Feat. Nathan Nicholson - Always Will 10:48 Faro - Shape Of Sense 10:44 Robin Schulz & Alle Farben & Israel Kamakawiwo'ole - Somewhere Over The Rainbow / What A Wonderful World 10:41 Tinlicker & Helsloot - Because You Move Me 10:38 Iberis Eguana - Sand Of Time 10:34 Ambyion - Motion 10:30 Armin Van Buuren, System F - Exhale (Tim Besamusca's Lounge Mix) 10:24 Blank & Jones - Coh 10:21 The Alan Parsons Project - The Turn Of A Friendly Card 10:17 Air - Playground Love 10:11 Bay Area - Dolphin Rider (Pianodreamsession) 10:07 Schiller - Summer In Berlin 10:03 Esteban Garcia Junior - Deep Blue 10:00 Sono - Keep Control (Artbat Remix Edit) 09:57 Ofenbach & Ella Henderson - Hurricane 09:52 Lizot Feat. Jason Anousheh - Einfach Nur Weg (Blondee & Roberto Mozza Remix) 09:49 Viva La Panda & Finding Molly - Bring It On (La La La) 09:45 Tinlicker Feat. Nathan Nicholson - Be Here And Now 09:40 Owen Ear, Stereoteric - Screaming Heart (Original Mix) 09:37 L'imperatrice - Peur Des Filles (Montmartre Remix) 09:33 Dead Composers - Starlight 09:31 Alan Walker X Hans Zimmer - Time (Alan Walker Remix) 09:28 Edx - Ecletric (Mixed) 09:22 Thievery Corporation - The Glass Bead Game 09:19 Loud Luxury Feat. Morgan St. Jean - Aftertaste 09:15 Lstn - Undecided 09:09 Schiller - The Future Iii 09:07 Trinix & Ian Urbina - Bad Things 09:04 Steve Forest, Te Pai - Never Gonna Give You Up 09:00 Ivy - Edge Of The Ocean 08:55 Lyke - Stay With Me 08:48 Atb - No Fate 08:45 Sam Feldt X Lush & Simon Feat. Inna - Fade Away 08:39 Hraach & Armen Miran - Nowhere 08:35 Ashcome - Vitamin Sky (Original Mix) 08:32 Together Alone - Let Go 08:29 Lost Frequencies, Zonderling & Kelvin Jones - Love To Go 08:26 Madison Park, Beechkraft - Parts Of Me (Original Mix) 08:23 Nora Van Elken - Interstellar 08:16 John Kah - Carina (Enui Remix) 08:12 Burak Yeter Feat. Danelle Sandova - Tuesday 08:07 Dreamerproject - Horizons (Glenn Main Remix) 08:02 Kid Massive, Yuji Ono, Dtale - Pray (Wolf Krew Remix) 07:59 Bedouin Soundclash - Brutal Hearts (Flicflac ) 07:54 Christopher Von Deylen - Infinity 07:47 Hraach - After Dark 07:41 Hraach, Armen Miran - Aldebaran (Original) 07:38 Milk & Sugar Feat. John Paul Young - Love Is In The Air 07:33 Lemongrass - Angel Wings 07:28 Sans Souci - Venice 07:24 Sono - Trusting You 07:21 Paco Pedilla - Chariots Of Fire (Glorious Remix) 07:15 Tebra - Suton 07:10 Bolier & Leandro Da Silva - Floripa (Extended) 07:07 Bebo Best & The Super Lounge Orchestr - Come As You Are 07:04 Bernward Koch - Lonely Dream (Solo Piano) 07:01 Tiësto & Karol G - Don't Be Shy 06:57 Mahmut Orhan & Colonel Bagshot - 6 Days 06:53 Fritz Kalkbrenner - Good Things 06:51 George Geccoo Feat. Maik Pinto - Dolce Vita 06:47 Moby - Lie Down In Darkness 06:43 Christopher Von Deylen - Heliotrope 06:36 Lexer & Paji - Red Puddle 06:32 Blank & Jones - High Fly 06:28 Nora En Pure - Enchantment 06:23 In Credo - Siesta Del Sol 06:20 Dj Antoine & Deep Vice - When You Want Some Love (Dj Antoine Vs Mad Mark 2k21 Mix) 06:17 Daniel Portman - Sensual Desires 06:13 Rithma - The Return 06:08 Röyksopp Feat. Susanne Sundfør - If You Want Me 06:04 Pascal Letoublon - Feelings Undercover 06:01 Lenny Ibizarre - The Rain 05:58 Mike Candys & Séb Mont - What's On Your Mind 05:55 Alok Feat. John Martin - Wherever You Go 05:47 Edx - We Can't Give Up 05:44 Kygo With Avicii & Sandro Cavazza - Forever Yours (Tribute) 05:39 Moby - The Sky Is Broken 05:31 Garlington - Falling To Pieces (Extended Mix) 05:24 Blank & Jones - White Light 05:21 Wamdue Project - King Of My Castle 05:19 Luca Schreiner Feat. Johnny Chicago - Its All Gonna Be Good (Junge Junge Edit) 05:12 Valeron - Jamal 05:08 Tania Zygar, Sofia Zlatko, Vijay - Wildest Dreams (Extended Mix) 05:05 Deepend & Graham Candy - Belong (Deepend Edit) 04:59 Anrey - The Forgotten (Extended Mix) 04:54 Jonson - S.c.e.n.e. T.w.o. 04:50 Paul Oakenfold, Bolier, Luis Fonsi - The World Can Wait (Bolier Remix) 04:48 Srtw & Mave Feat. Sønlille - Last Train Home 04:42 Mathieu & Florzinho - Maha - Amba 04:39 Edx - Vommuli 04:35 Sam Feldt - Show Me Love (Original Mix) 04:27 Jan Blomqvist - Empty Floor 04:24 Lika Morgan - Ding Dong 04:21 Starley - Lovers Strangers 04:19 Dj Antoine Feat. Ablai - My Corazon (Dj Antoine Vs Mad Mark 2k21 Mix) 04:14 Mr.da-nos - San Francisco 2k20 04:10 Felix Jaehn Feat. Lost Frequencies & Linying - Eagle Eyes 04:07 Neptune & Moonnight - I Need A New Love (Original Mix) 04:04 Armin Van Buuren Feat. Rbvln - Weight Of The World (Feat. Rbvln) 03:58 Estelle Feat. Kanye West - American Boy (Lost Frequencies Remix) 03:56 Dj Antoine & Flip Capella Feat. Evelyn - Dark Love 03:50 Goldfish - Love Everlasting (Extended Mix) 03:44 Fac15 & Jay C - By The Pool (Jay C's Classic Mix) 03:41 Nora Van Elken - Okinawa 03:37 Nora En Pure - Sphinx 03:33 Joachim Pastor Feat. Nathan Nicholson - Saint Louis 03:28 Anrey - Lost Lands (Extended Mix) 03:24 Blank & Jones With Jan Loechel - Secret Hideaway 03:22 Famba Feat. Brando & Mkla - Games We Play 03:18 Blank & Jones - Alone In This Rhythm 03:15 Klingande & Krishane - Rebel Yell 03:12 Trinix - Soweto 03:08 Schiller & Peter Heppner - Leben... I Feel You 03:03 Boozoo Bajou - Caminoux 02:57 Twocolors - Together 02:51 Shakedown - At Night (Afterlife Remix) 02:47 Fritz Kalkbrenner - Void 02:44 Nora En Pure & Lika Morgan - In The Air Tonight (Sons Of Maria Remix) 02:39 Velvet Lounge Project - In Harmony 02:35 Nora En Pure - Tantrum 02:32 Eelke Kleijn - Midnight Affair (Samaha Slow Edit) 02:25 Chris Zippel Feat. Tusnelda - Blade 02:22 Vamero & Lizot - Bleeding Love 02:19 Armin Van Buuren & Avira - Illusion (Mixed) 02:13 Blank & Jones - Give It To Me 02:10 Klingande, Wrabel - Big Love 02:07 Avaion X Vize X Leony - Pieces 02:03 Depeche Mode - Goodnight Lovers 01:59 Kidsø - Fir 01:57 Buchs Feat. Nokyo - Cheverolet 01:52 Airstream One - Southern Light 01:49 Neptunica & Lunax - We Don't Even Talk Anymore 01:43 Max Denoise Feat Claire Willis - Bring To Me Life (Original Mix) 01:38 Faithless Feat. Nathan Ball & Caleb Femi - I Need Someone 01:34 Klangkarussel & Poppy Baskcomb - This Love 01:28 Moby - A Case For Shame 01:23 Deep Dive Corp. Feat. Dennis Le Gree - Water 01:20 Atb & Topic - Your Love (9pm) 01:15 Soho Lounge Feat. Dea Li - Chiaro Di Luna 01:11 Blank & Jones - Twilight Moon 01:07 Lstn - Sïstër 01:03 Thor - Chamka 00:58 Klangperlenspiel - Million Words 00:54 Schiller - White Nights (Don't Let Me Go) 00:49 Nora En Pure - Diving With Whales (Daniel Portman Radio Mix) 00:46 Yves V X Bashkar - Halfway (Feat. Twan Ray) 00:38 Boris Pillmann - Love You 00:32 Banderas - This Is Your Life (Easy Life Mix) 00:30 Nathan Evans - Wellerman (220 Kid X Billen Ted Remix) 00:25 Schiller Mit Moya Brennan - Falling 00:21 Daniel Portman - Vulnerable 00:19 Nora Van Elken - Heaven Is A Place On Earth 00:14 Billy Sizemore - Together 00:11 Sons Of Maria - Always 00:07 Mike Candys & Jack Holiday - Saltwater (Rework) 00:02 Faro - Dreaming In Orange

[astorythatwritesitself]

How about 3, 14, 20, and 21 for Adrian?

Well this one was a lot of fun 😂

3: Scars or painful spots: Many |D Her hands got it worst, ME1 era they were littered with scrapes and burns from weapons; and there's a large scar across her face that she has no active memory of receiving (happened while on raid-guarding duty on a colony world, she got ambused with a knife). All of these get nullified during the Lazarus project- but hey, blank canvas! From there on, she develops:

-Permanent burn scars and mild nerve damage (even with the cybernetics- its not enough to mess with dexterity, there's just some loss of sensitivity) in her left hand from heavy use of fireballs, she's actually lost part of her fingerprints for a while there.

-The glowing scars fade, but that side of her face is always a little... tender.

-Everyone Lives scenario sees some nasty damage from the Citadel's fall, but her right leg gets it the worst- even when re-set, it's not straight and tends toward nasty flares of pain.

14: Ingrained habits/force of habit: Adrian Shepard's weapons are extremely well maintained, her armor is spotless, and if she has a bed, it is  c r i s p. She also tends to position herself at the front of any group she's in- even fully off duty, which gets annoying and kind of hilarious when it's somewhere she's never been.

20: What Ifs/Alternate Timelines: WELL FOR A WHILE I just had an 'everyone lives' AU but in trying to cross media to poke a buddy's angst button I'm now on uh.

Take your pick depending on angst tastes I guess, all stemming from 'haha hey what if Cerberus DID chip Shepard with an Order 66 style deal', and further context that Shrios happens.

Fuck it, is it really an OTP if you can't make them kill each other: chipped Shep goes after the salarian Councilor so it's Thane vs Shepard instead of Kai Leng! Fun options of:

otherwise fully canon compliant so Thane is far from top form and further hampered because this is is partner coming at him with full intent to kill, and we basically get That Renegade Interrupt From Later but now. (Further flavoring: Shepard as we know her is gone. Or: oh no she is FULLY fucking aware in her own mind and can't stop her body)

Less compliance with canon but following the sense that yeah if Mordin starts trying to cure Joker's issues for shits and giggles, he can probably at least alleviate Kepral's symptoms if he puts effort into it. Thane is in good form. Reapers and emotions be damned, he is one of the best assassins in the galaxy and a Shepard under Cerberus' control will doom them anyway. Assume the Virmire Survivor takes over from there. (I've always thought one of the cruelest AUs for my runs is Thane Lives Shep Dies, but wait! It can get even worse!)

Non-lethal takedown and chip is neutralized but uhhhh. It was pretty fucking wired in there. You don't have Shepard actively trying to fuck things up! Because her memory is rapidly deteriorating and her health won't do much better, so it's similar to above of the Virmire survivor taking over, while Adrian rides out her last few weeks with this very sweet guy who she halfway recognizes as being very important, but can't really place it. (In particular: early in, it seems to be a good day, they're talking... and Thane is very abruptly thrown back to what had been a very treasured memory of the SR2 when Adrian says, 'I think my translator just glitched.')

(I'm aware these are far from original, I've seen a few chipped Shep takes around xD but I never really considered it for Adrian til now.)

21: Turning Points In Their Life: Getting lost as a little kid and a turian helped get her safely back to her family. She didn't have a translator of her own yet (& human dialects had literally only JUST been added), and she had seen glimpses of stuff from the war (hard to avoid when your mom had been on the ground at Shanxi), so she was very nervous but put on a brave face. The turian was nothing but concerned because like, that's a clearly lost kid and some instincts are very common between space-faring sapient species. That pretty much sticks with her forever, the fact that even if she couldn't understand the words, their body language and actions were just like when her parents were irritable from worry.

Akuze, naturally, is another one. For a solid three years after, she simply gave in to a near fugue state of following orders... and more importantly, even once she started waking up and really got back to herself, another notion stayed in: She's the first one into a fight and the last to leave, even if it kills her.

(Send me some numbers + character for some headcanons!)

[kiribakukuro]

matt in a crop top has me n u t t i n g SORRY

[magicrobins]

“That’s for Thane, you son of a bitch.”

[morejamperhaps]

All your base are belong to us

[noodlini]

Lust love at first sight

[jgroffdaily]

New York Theatre Workshop's upcoming Off-Broadway revival of Stephen Sondheim and George Furth's Merrily We Roll Along has found its Franklin Shepard and Mary Flynn in Tony nominee Jonathan Groff and Tony winner Lindsay Mendez, respectively, joining the previously announced Daniel Radcliffe as Charley Kringas.

The production has also set dates, with previews scheduled to begin November 21 ahead of a December 12 opening night. The limited engagement will continue through January 8, 2023.

Olivier winner Maria Friedman is back at the helm after staging this production at London's Menier Chocolate Factory in 2013 prior to its transfer to the West End's Harold Pinter Theatre, where it won the Olivier for Best Musical. Following its London success, the production had a 2017 run at Boston's Huntington Theatre.

Tim Jackson is also back to choreograph, with the production also set to feature music supervision by Catherine Jayes, music direction by Alvin Hough, Jr., scenic and costume design by Soutra Gilmour, lighting design by Amith Chandrashaker, and sound design by Kai Harada. Casting is by Jim Carnahan and Jason Thinger, with additional casting by Taylor Williams. Dave Anzuelo is fight and intimacy director, and Jhanaë K-C Bonnick is stage manager.

* Tickets will first be available to subscribers of the New York Theatre Workshop's full season of productions ($285 for five shows). Single tickets go on sale Sept. 21 at 12 p.m. Eastern.

Prices start at $145, but all seats for the first two previews are $25.

[dragonflight203]

Mass Effect 3 replay, Priority: Thessia:

Asari Councilor Meeting

-Out of game, it makes sense that the asari Councilor meets you in Udina’s office. It’s already been created and is a private location.

In game, it’s an odd choice. The asari Councilor could easily have called you to her office. It feels like a flex to meet in the former human Councilor’s.

-All the C-Sec officers are in Udina’s office are turian.

That can’t be a coincidence. Humanity is not being permitted to investigate the betrayal of their Councilor.

Makes sense. You don’t want an invested party performing their own investigation.

-The asari Councilor is careful to only refer to the Thessia beacon as an “artifact” and to do so out of earshot of the (turian) C-Sec officers.

She wants to keep this on a need to know basis.

Thessia:

-And another mission with a required squadmate, right after Rannoch. Sigh.

It doesn’t matter this playthrough since Liara and Javik are my squad, but in other playthroughs it gets old fast.

-In his own way, Javik is trying to be helpful. Turn off your empathy. Steel yourself. More people will die and more will be indoctrinated and need to be put down. You accomplish nothing by letting each one hurt you.

I think this is why Javik and Liara clash so much – despite her increased cynicism since becoming an information broker, Liara is still very paragon aligned and in touch with her feelings.

Javik is the king of cynicism. He has principals, but his dreams and any hope he once had shattered a long time ago.

Liara reminds him of what could have been and what he might have been. It’s like looking in a twisted mirror.

He knows how much worse it will get for her, and he’s trying to spare her what pain he can.

-Javik can be very inspirational when he needs to be, as seen with Kurin.

He’s normally a troll because Shepard is the leader. However, if Shepard fell I believe Javik’s personality would change quickly to fill the hole Shepard would leave.

In a way, Javik’s normal behavior is a sign of faith in Shepard – he’s willing to be such a grump because he trusts Shepard to take care of things.

-I feel bad for Kurin and her people; she says people will know the war was won on Thesssia – we know this will be one of the worst losses.

Still, the information we get from the beacon before Kai Leng steals it does make a difference.

-Liara: This has to end!

Javik: Draw strength from your anger. It will keep you alive.

Yep. As awful as he is to her, Javik doesn’t really want Liara hurt.

-Liara: Those things are slaughtering my people.

Javik: Then avenge their loss.

I’m not sure that’s the healthiest coping mechanism, but it’s been working for Javik so far.

-Liara is handling Thessia very, very poorly. It may have been better if she had stayed on the Normandy and let someone with a clearer mind come on the mission.

At the asari monastery, I cut Liara slack because it was the first time the war really hit home for her. I’m still doing so, but this is a good reminder why professionals usually are not permitted to practice on those to them. When professional and personal are mixed mistakes are often made.

-Javik says the Reapers turned the Protheans’ children against them because they thought the Protheans would hesitate to kill them.

When Shepard asks if they did, Javik asks what answer Shepard would prefer.

That man must have so much PTSD.

-There aren’t any Dragon’s Teeth around.

Those are normally associated with Reapers. That’s how they create more troops.

They’re killing plenty of asari – why aren’t they converting them?

-I think Liara’s line about the Alliance springing for air support is supposed to be a joke, but it wasn’t voiced that way. It does come across as bitter.

-Liara says there were 5 billion asari when the war began.

That number is way too low to be all asari. I will assume she means on Thessia.

-Why does Javik know so much about the asari, salarians, etc. and Prothean involvement with them anyway?

That’s not something a soldier would normally be interested in.

I suppose since he was intended to lead them in the next cycle, he may have studied them.

-There’s probably an essay to be written how the only female-presenting sapient species in Mass Effect, up until now treated as the most advanced race of this cycle and the only sapient species with native biotics, is only so because they were meddled with by Protheans, who are represented by the male-presenting Javik.

So they aren’t the most advanced species because they’re naturally so; they are because a male coded race made them such. They didn’t earn their position. They were given it.

It’s not an inherently bad twist, but I don’t think Bioware considered all the optics of it.

Even if Javik were female, I don’t think that would have salvaged it.

-Why did the Protheans meddle with the asari to make them all biotics anyway? And why did they not do the same for the humans, turians, and salarians?

And element zero exposure is linked to biotics; since Thessia is a high in element zero, why weren’t the asari already biotic? We see in Jack’s Citadel meetup that some varren born on Thessia are biotic because of the element zero.

I suspect the asari were already naturally biotic and the Protheans just enhanced the trait. Made them more powerful, maybe.

-Liara’s inability to believe that the asari would hide a Prothean beacon is another indication of her remaining innocence and how she views asari as separate from the rest of the galaxy.

As an information broker, she should know the worst that people are capable of. It’s her trade.

But Liara still views asari as special; as better than the rest of the galaxy. I don’t think it’s a conscious belief but something ingrained in her from childhood. If you asked her she’d probably insist all races are equal.

Yet while she readily accepts that humans, turians, salarians, etc. are capable of awful things she bulks when confronted with asari actions. The asari are supposed to be better than that.

It’s similar to how she’s seen the war on Menae, Sur’Kesh, and Rannoch but doesn’t feel it until she sees it on Thessia.

A lot of Liara’s unexamined beliefs are getting crushed today. It’s no wonder she has a breakdown on the Normandy after this.

-If you go paragon, Javik states that his people learned about Mass Effect technology from the Inusannon.

They’re the race that came before Javik’s cycle.

As I stated in my Mass Effect 2 replay, that creates a timeline that gives me a headache. If they really were a race in the cycle before Javik’s, I think someone made a mistake with the numbers.

-It’s funny how Bioware left in the dialogue where Liara says the beacon is reacting to Shepard because they have the cipher, and deal with Javik being present by just having him make a sarcastic remark.

-Why is the beacon in Athame’s statue anyway?

If you have to destroy the statue every time you need to access it, that’s a terrible hiding place.

There’s probably a way to remove the beacon from the statue without damaging either and Shepard and co are just brute forcing it.

-Vendetta says there was a splinter group in their time that wanted to dominate the Reapers rather than destroy them. They were found to be indoctrinated.

Yet Control is still treated as a valid ending.

This is what I mean by the endings feel tacked on – you cannot repeatedly treat one option as invalid then turn around treat it as valid without a twist to make it so.

And no, the star child saying it’s different because you’re not indoctrinated is not a twist. What do you think he would have told TIM?

There would need to be groundwork to make Control valid – maybe Shepard investigates Reapers and finds a weakness in their programming that can be rewritten, similar to the virus that can rewrite the heretics or the true geth. That would also tie into ME2 and make the trilogy stronger.

(No, I’m not counting the Crucible. That’s a blatant deux ex mechina and it’s repeatedly stated in game that no one knows how it works. The only explanation is provided by the star child, who we have no reason to trust.)

-This is the first hint that the Reapers may not be in charge. Vendetta says they’re servants of the patterns of evolution, not their master. The master has one goal: Galactic annihilation.

Bit late to be raising the idea that the Reapers aren’t the true villain 2/3 of the way through the last game in a trilogy, but at least it’s not a surprise true final boss like many games have had in the past.

-I’ve seen complaints about Vendetta being able to detect indoctrination, but I vaguely recall Vigil being about to detect that Saren was indoctrinated so it has precedence.

Of course, Vigil may have just been going off Saren working with synthetics. That would have been a big clue.

-And right after Vendetta told us about the Prothean problems with an indoctrinated splinter group that wanted to control the Reapers, we speak with TIM who wants to control the Reapers.

The game is dropping anvil sized hints that TIM is indoctrinated.

-I’m not going to go into the absurdity of how the plans for the Crucible have been passed down through multiple cycles and improved upon in each one. That’s been detailed better than I.

I will insert that I like the concept of the Reapers being defeated by the combined efforts of all the cycles they have destroyed. It’s the execution I have quibbles with.

This cycle barely found the Crucible plans; you expect me to believe that every cycle before has done so? And been able to decode them and expand upon them?

-Why did Kai Leng kill the scientists?

TIM wanted the Prothean Beacon. The scientists were going to show Shepard how to activate it. Why kill them before they had done so?

Kai Leng could have let the scientists show Shepard the Prothean Beacon, then grabbed it and made off. It’s unlikely the scientists would have made much a difference in the fight.

TIM got lucky that Shepard managed to find the Prothean Beacon anyway.

And if Kai Leng already knew how to activate the Prothean Beacon – why did he let Shepard get a hold of it? Why did he let Shepard speak to it? If only Shepard could activate it because it would only do so in the presence of a Prothean, we’re back to why did Kai Leng kill the scientists.

Frankly, I think Kai Leng killed them for them fun.

-TIM: Why kill when you can control?

Go red renegade, you can tell TIM that he’s indoctrinated. He says you’re fighting a war that can’t be won.

Interesting – TIM’s already given up the war as hopeless.

Renegade Shepard is also dead set on destroying the Reapers, so at least that’s consistent with the endings.

If you go blue paragon, Shepard doesn’t outright say TIM’s indoctrinated but implies it. They lean on TIM should work with them.

The renegade options are better in this conversation than the paragon.

-As others have said, Kai Leng’s “victory” in this scene is just bad. It doesn’t feel like he earned it. You easily take him down, then he wins by calling in a gunship.

The same ship you destroyed multiple times in ME2. And how many harvesters have you taken out at this point?

You know, Shepard if you carried the heavy weaponry like you did in ME2, you could easily take out that gunship. One blast from the Cain would do it.

-And then you listen to Kurin and their squad be killed, just to twist in the utter “defeat” you just suffered. Ugh.

If Bioware had handled Kai Leng better, this would be very impactful. It’d truly feel like you had failed.

As it is, it feels like Legion’s sacrifice – more frustrating than sad, occurring because the writers said so rather than as a natural extension of the story.

-As others have stated, it sure is convenient that once Shepard decides to go after Cerberus they immediately have a lead on where they are.

With that said, the lead itself is logical: It makes sense that Traynor would track Kai Leng’s as it left Thessia.

I think this could be salvaged with another write of the scene. Maybe have a frustrated Shepard ask how they’ll proceed without the VI, and Traynor offer up a possible lead on Kai Leng’s location.

[ljandersen]

The Cerberus Coup Standoff

Honestly, the coup standoff makes zero sense to me.  Kaidan has biotics.  In my game, Shepard has biotics.  Why is no one putting Udina in stasis?  Why aren't they using biotics to disable each other? 

If Kaidan is blocking Udina with his body, why doesn't Shepard's companions spread out?  Someone can get a clean shot.  Kaidan can't shoot all three of them at the same time.  Plus, why aim for the chest to begin with?  You only need Kaidan to falter just enough to shoot past him.

Even beyond the confrontation between the Virmire Survivor and Shepard, what are they even arguing about?  Udina opening the door?  Shepard destroys armies of enemies with only two companions.  Here, she has three counting the VS.  The Cerberus troopers are bottle necked at the door. A biotic on her team can shield the councilors from stray bullets.  It should be easy.

Plus, you can't convince me the Cerberus soldiers are a real threat when they "beat feet into the keeper tunnel" at the sight of two unarmored C-Sec agents with pistols. 

Shepard is the real barrier to the Cerberus soldiers, not the door.  The VS could defend the door with Shepard against Cerberus.  What's more useful in defending the councilors: the door's lock or the VS adding to the defensive fight power behind the door? There's no reason to flip out over Udina opening the door.

Ultimately, did the door's lock even matter?  Bailey welds through it with his Omni-Tool in about five seconds. 

What's  Shepard's grand plan here anyway?  So, the door stays locked.  Now what?  They're trapped out in the open with Kai Leng or anyone else able to drop on them.  They can be attacked from all sides.  Or Cerbetus could just blow them up with a missile from afar.  Is not fighting your way through the door into shelter really the best idea?

And Udina?  Is he really a threat?  He has a sissy pistol and just wants to unlock the door.  He's not a biotic.  He doesn't have combat experience as far as I know.  He's already served Cerberus's purpose in gaining access to the Citadel.  He should be easily restrainable, and would it really matter if he escaped? All Shepard is getting is satisfaction in serving justice. Is that worth a friend's life?

For so, SO many reasons the coup doesn't make sense.  It's transparently contrived.  There isn't a real dilemma here.  There isn't need for a confrontation, let alone killing someone who's on your side.  This situation is so nonsensical, I couldn't even write the scene into my fanfiction.  The coup confrontation is just ludicrous.

[mostly-megan]

In honor of the long restful Memorial day weekend, I just wanted to bring you all my soothing thought of the TF boys:

Will is already in his shorts and VA tee shirt after the parade, getting the grill prepped. He shouts over at his daughter and Frankie’s to make sure they keep away from the hot surface. They yell back a non-committal, “‘Kay!” as they race around with bubble wands. The happily barking German Shepard bounding after them.

Frankie coming out of the house in jeans and a loose flannel over his tee, fluffing out his hair before putting on his Army Ranger hat, one of the few days he actually wears it. His wife is getting settings and condiments placed on the deck table, so he sneaks up and slips his arms around her waist. She giggles as he kisses and nuzzles along her neck. He sighs and clings to her, softly chatting until their toddler starts calling for them after his nap.

Santi sits at the table only half out of uniform, the jacket hanging open as he sips on his beer. He keeps watching his fiancé walk back and forth from the kitchen to place the prepped meats by Will. Eventually, he catches her waist and drags her to his lap. She teases about how long it’s been since the parade ended and he’s still not fully dressed. He gets a mischievous look and winking before whispering something into her ear, making her cheeks warm. He leans back, looking victorious, bringing her hand up to tenderly kiss her knuckles.

Benny bursts out of the house with his football, still shirtless, just as Will’s wife and his new girlfriend bring out more beers and sodas. He instantly starts flexing at his date, but she starts laughing and rolling her eyes. She hold his shirt out to him, reminding him that he should at least pretend to have shame. Will argues that you have to know what shame is before pretending to have it. Ben fake throws the ball at his brother before bolting down the deck steps to play with the kids.

They all eventually gather around the table with their newly grown numbers and settle into the comfort of their odd family. The uncles all helping get the kids served before everyone else and insisting Will’s wife shouldn’t have to do anymore after getting the whole meal and house prepped for them. Frankie holds his little son, coaxing him to munch on tomatoes and some potato salad along with devouring little bites of hot dogs.

Everyone slowly migrates from the table to the fire pit. The kids have long fallen asleep in their parents’ laps, little arms hanging around their necks. The conversation is easy and light, but always avoiding the topics and reminders they can’t deal with today. Always trying to focus on living rather than the near misses of their pasts.

Tagging who might be interested: @zeldasayer @themarcusmoreno @max--phillips @rae-gar-targaryen @yespolkadotkitty @scribbledghost @plexflexico @saltarepoppy @keeper0fthestars @youmeanmybrain @talesfromtheguild @frannyzooey @absurdthirst @softpedropascal @fairytalesintheend @lackofhonor @maybege  @getinthepoolkeanu @pedroepascal @pedropascalito @mylifeliterally @miraclemoreno @miss-me-jack @ithinkhesgaybutwesavedmufasa @pettyprocrastination @autumnleaves1991-blog @tangledlove27 @imnotakilleranymore @jedi-mando @disgruntledspacedad @the-purity-pen @aerolanya @dindja @mitchi-c @phoenixhalliwell

[shizuu-chann]

It's hard for me to feel bad about the fall of Thessia when they had MONTHS to jump in and help.

Except they didn't.

They waited until THEY needed help, then asked Shepard to help humanity and the rest of the galaxy by helping the asari. Don't get me wrong, I do feel bad for the asari civilians, but High Command and Councilor Tevos can kiss my ass.

"Maybe next time the Alliance could spring for air support," Liara says as you're getting swamped by cannibals and marauders. Or maybe they should have jumped sooner and we would have had an easier time getting to that beacon, like maybe BEFORE the Reapers even arrived in asari space. Instead they tried to maintain their supremacy by consolidating their power instead of aiding their allies, and ultimately doomed their homeworld because they were too proud.

It's ironic that Councilor Sparatus spends the first two games being an aggressive passive-aggressive ass, but by the third game ultimately sees that working together is the only way they all get what they want in the end, which is to fucking survive and defeat an incredibly powerful enemy for good. Tevos is great at lip service and then not doing anything, and Valern feels like a yes-man to Tevos, tbh. I like him a little more than Tevos, but it really does feel like he just defers to whatever Tevos says, but I've already made a post about that.

A different but related subject: No matter what anyone says, the fact that Cerberus knew where Shepard would be (RE: the beacon on Thessia) and beat her there in the first place will never. Make. Sense.

No one except the asari councilor/High Command, Shepard, and a select few of the Normandy crew even knew about the beacon's potential to know what the Catalyst was. Even if you could claim Cerberus agents were embedded in High Command or had agents who knew members of High Command, there was no reason to wait for Shepard to show up to activate the beacon. They'd been using the beacon for centuries to make sure they kept their edge and superiority, so they clearly knew how to operate it and obtain information from it (they just never found info about the Catalyst because no one knew they needed it; plus, the beacon's VI was programmed not to even reveal that info until the Crucible was completed).

You could make the claim that whoever tipped off Cerberus about it didn't know how to work the beacon, and thus couldn't have told this mystical agent anything other than that it existed, thus Shepard HAD to show up to unlock it--but I just don't buy that. I don't, and I refuse to.

And THAT filters into Kai Leng being a terrible and poorly written antagonist, I guess. 99% of all the issues I have with ME3's plot involve Kai Leng (the other 1% is the whole "salvation through destruction" nonsense). All of his scenes and "victories" require the plot and previous character development for Shepard and her companions to twist themselves into pretzels to make sense.

Example? I don't know about you guys, but my typical Citadel Coup Squad consists of Garrus and Javik, and obviously Shepard. That puts three highly trained soldiers with previous experience fighting Reapers and their minions in the same place at the same time on the same team. Indigo is an infiltrator, thus there are two SNIPERS and then three overall EXPERT MARKSMEN on this team. Then you have Thane: the trained ASSASSIN since he was six years old.

You're telling me a master assassin with biotic capabilities, an ancient career soldier with a literal lifetime's worth of Reaper-fighting experience and biotic capabilities, an ex-C-Sec officer vigilante famous for being a master sniper, and the literal fucking Hero of the Citadel, Spectre agent, N7 Special Forces operative who's also a master sniper and career soldier all forgot how to aim and hit a target at point blank range? Or forgot they had biotics capable of killing? Bull. Shit.

And that pretty much goes for any squadmates you can bring with you onto the Citadel! Ashley/James/Kaidan? Career soldiers. Tali? Not a career soldier, but still a good shot. Liara? Pure biotic! She could have lifted Leng or slammed a chair into him hard enough to incapacitate him a la Vasir on Illium. EDI? Programmed to be an excellent shot, presumably. Like.

And don't come at me with "well, Kai Leng was also an N7!" Don't care. There is no way you could convince me that Kai Leng was a worthy adversary. His temperament alone puts him at a disadvantage to Shepard. Cool, level-headed Shepard literally gets a rise out of him at Cerberus HQ when she tells him he's a coward bc all he does is run away. He tells her to shut up rather aggressively, which in this context shows his immaturity and incompetence. The only reason he "won" on Thessia was plot armor, and not even the good kind. Saren had good plot armor on Virmire; he wasn't supposed to die yet, so the plot was that he saw that he was going to lose that krogan breeding facility no matter what, and booked it to fight later on Ilos and the Citadel. KL's boring, pathetic, whiny, and childish. Furthermore, him being on Thessia makes no sense, and that whole priority mission was a mess.