Unpopular opinions

My headcanon is that my ME1 asshole Shep tainted her a bit, by melding with her. lol

Then he eventually grows softer over time and she grows colder.

But like I said, I think she had controlling aspects in her all along. Just Paragon-ish. She's already trying to sway you and make you live up to her ideals, before even getting to know you. That's just her personality.. and it blends well with someone with a lot of power dumped in their hands, like the Broker's resources.

That's on the VS's head at least. I still don't blame them, but they're still too self-righteous for their own good. Even to the point of thinking Garrus is with Cerberus, if he's on Horizon. Jack realizes there's mutual benefit at first, but eventually sees the threat as well and sticks around anyways. If the VS just was patient, the same could have happened.

Not entirely. Though yes it's pretty idiotic that they'd think Garrus would be a member of Cerberus. There is also absolutely no option for Shepard to explain himself/herself. Shepard doesn't offer any information on either Cerberus or the Collectors. Instead Shep acts like nothing has changed.

Shepard doesn't

Show what they learned at Freedom's Progress
Provide any information on Mordin's anti-seeker tech
Mention meeting Tali at all
Provide any Cerberus data like what was provided to jack
Mention meeting the Council (and possibly becoming a Spectre again)
Mention meeting Anderson
Talk about any of the missions against Cerberus they could have done together in ME1
Mention Joker or Chakwas, nor any exam Chakwas may have given Shepard

There's any number of things Shepard could have said or done to demonstrate "I'm not with Cerberus!" But none of it was done. Because Drama>Logic.

What's interesting is Garrus will say something, but won't say anything when facing them during the coup?

How different would that scene of been, on Horizon, if Liara told them that Shepard's body was handed to Cerberus? Don't know. I put the blame on both the VS and Shepard. The VS for not realizing the collectors are the threat at the moment and Shepard for not giving a better argument that the real threat is the collectors and not Cerberus.

I know one thing. When the VS says they're reporting back to Anderson, my Shepard would've told them go ahead. He never did anything. The Alliance never did anything. To heck with them.

My Shepard had no problem with working with Cerberus. After the clown, calling himself Anderson, said it was up to Shepard to stop the reapers, I wanted Shepard to say she's/he's glad to be working with Cerberus. He said everything with that line. He didn't care. The Alliance didn't. The proof in the fact they made no effort to confirm Shepard's death and made no effort to find a way to stop the reapers.What a poor excuse of a human. Where was the interrupt for me to throw him off the balcony? Along comes ME3 and he says to Shepard, at the beginning, I just need you to help us find a way to stop the reapers. Yeah. Why don't you ask yourself that question when I was dead Anderson? Idiot.

Yes, well, you don't have the option to say "screw fighting the Reapers, I'm gonna go lie on a beach until the end" either. Roleplaying doesn't mean the ability to do anything you want, but rather to define how your character feels/reacts to the situations as presented. You have to work with Cerberus but you can be hostile and give them the finger all the way through. You don't have that option for the Alliance.

Anderson in ME2 can't do anything, he's being cockblocked by the council at every turn. He says so as much, his position is mostly token. And while it may work for Shepard to say "screw you all, I'm doing this my way" that's not an option for everybody. No matter who joins you, until you have your own army at your back, someone sympathetic still needs to stay inside the system to help you out. Unfortunately, that means their hands can be tied quite easily.

Stupidity is the Only Option is not roleplaying, it's railroading.

Nor is ME (especially the third one) much good at the feeling/reacting thing either. It wasn't until the very end of ME2 that I felt I really got to give Cerberus the finger.

I never played a Sole Survivor again after my first run because it made zero sense to not mention the thresher maw thing to TIM.

You forget Liara went all ruthless underworld broker at the flip of a coin after ME1. While not obviously a "terrorist" like Cerberus, it's unlikely an Alliance officer or a token councilor could officially do business with someone like that. Garrus peaced to Omega and the VS was sent to the Terminus to deal with a problem the Alliance found real enough- colony protection. Likely not Anderson's idea as it is, as the VS is not under his command, as a captain or a Councilor. Neither are the rest of them, really. So while the general inaction of the Alliance and Council is annoying, you're getting worked up about Anderson for nothing.

What are you talking about? The stupidity is all on the Alliance/Council for still going "ah yes reapers" after ME1. Cerberus is the only ones who are doing anything about the issue in ME2 so the smart thing is to at least try and work together. "But durr terrorists" would be the stupid option there. Everyone holds the idiot ball in this series at one point or another it's true, but that doesn't have anything to do with this discussion. The bottom line is in ME2 you're forced to work with Cerberus but you can play nice or hostile all the way through. In ME3, there is zero option to do anything about the Alliance, other than "sir yes sir" salute like an idiot robot. That's railroading.

And while it's not possible to literally give Cerberus the finger, you can do plenty to remind them this is a temporary arrangement at best. Be a dick to TIM, give Jack the files, don't support Miranda when she tries to assert herself as 2IC, tell her you don't trust Cerberus etc. Hell even Chakwas and Tali (and I think Joker too, can't remember though) straight up tell you they don't work for Cerberus, they work for you. This is regardless of any player choice in how they feel about the organization. The game itself supports an anti-Cerberus stance as well as pro. Not so for ME3. Even ME1 was more balanced. You could ignore all of Hackett's missions, tell that other Admiral to screw off, but ME3, nope you're freakin brainwashed into "Alliance, fuck yeah!"

And you forget that without Cerberus, she wouldn't of done anything. For someone who kept talking about prothean throughout ME1, she all of a sudden forgets that and becomes some obsessed individual going after the broker that no one has any information about instead of making any effort to help find a way to stop the reapers. Her being ruthless? hahahaha. No, but thanks for the laugh
And what does shooting mercs have to do with finding a way to stop the reapers? Nothing. But after ME2, he cries like a baby to daddy who in turns, to shut his son up, talks to the primarch who makes Garrus an advisor.
You mean Horizon? Too bad the other colonies that the collectors hit didn't get any protection
Maybe not, but he can voice an opinion depending on who he talks to
The others were on the SR1 and saw what was going on. I don't see why they couldn't do something. It seems like everyone can't do nothing without having Shepard hold their hand. How pathetic.
Its beyond annoying. Its pathetic.
No I'm not. He showed how incompetent he is when he mentioned Shepard's visions to the council. What was he hoping that would accomplish outside of making himself look bad?

Oh, I don't mean to downplay Shepard's part in saving the colonists of Horizon. I just mean that the Alliance's attempts to boost colony defenses weren't entirely without merit: the guns were capable of forcing the Collectors to leave prematurely, technical issues aside.

Did I say they wouldn't work with her?
His fault? What? Never said it was his fault. Why are you assuming I said that?
Since there's no other high ranking Alliance guy around to talk with, yes. He's the one that says I believe, but proves it by doing nothing. It also applies to the ME1 characters for not pushing for something to be done about finding a way to stop the reapers
Ok
By the council? So what? Because they ignore him it means not to do anything? Again. How hard would it be for him to get a shuttle for Joker to take Ashley/Kaidan and the other squadmates to Eden Prime, Ilos, or even Mars to investigate any clues to finding a way to stop the reapers? If the asari, turian don't want to help, he can't force them to, but it would say a lot about them for not helping.

From who? If not Anderson, who? Hackett? If so, it wouldn't be hard for him to agree with Anderson about finding a way to stop the reapers.
Did she say that?
Was he needed for that? Were any attempt successful?
Tried what? So blowing off steam is more important than finding a way to stop the reapers? It was only after ME2, he makes any effort.
Without Cerberus, there would be no obsession. It also could've been done without involving her.
How about nothing?
What does Ilos have to do with what I said? Ilos never existed when Shepard first talked with the council and Anderson mentioned the visions after returning from Eden Prime.

No, I did.

Because like I said before it looked like you were blaming Anderson for all of the SR1 crew's lack of progress. If that's not the case, this part of the conversation is pointless.

You don't talk to him as Alliance brass, you talk to him as the Human Councilor. The only thing he can do is councilor stuff. Which gets shut down by the other council members.

You say "do anything" like you just expect him to find the Crucible on his own or start leading the resistance right from the Citadel.  He has very little effective authority. As an Alliance officer, he's still just a captain as far as we know, and as the Councilor his authority only extends until the other councilors block him. He also can't dictate back to his own government because that's not what the Council does. They're the space UN, they don't actually rule the species. He also can't push the envelope with the council too much. Humanity just got this spot and if Anderson's responsible for losing it, that'll be the end of him. Sure the Reapers are worse but the people who see it that way are in the minority.

Don't make the mistake of assuming the Alliance only has two officers, or even that Hackett is the highest ranking among them. Even Admirals are part of the chain of command and report up to what eventually becomes a civilian level. It wasn't Hackett that kept Ashley and her family down all these years for Shanxi and it probably wasn't Anderson's decision to send her to some backwater post on Horizon after she finally got out from under the "Williams Curse". Like I said, the stupid is systemic and collective here.

No, but it's logical. It's also logical that as her pilgrimage ended she had to return to share what knowledge or tech she's gained (that's part of the whole purpose behind the pilgrimage to begin with).

Yes. Upon returning to Tuchanka, Wrex unites many of the clans under Urdnot and institutes some more modern reforms with the explicit purpose of strengthening the krogan and ending the infighting, though some traditionalists like Uvenk bitterly disagree. He also provides neutral ground for negotiations and guards each clan's fertile females. Even Wreav can use Virmire to take over some of the clans and provide a more unified krogan front despite not being as progressive as Wrex.

He probably still thought more like a cop than Spectre. Not enough time under Shepard's wing. Regrettable.

And? Doesn't change the fact that she was the one who retrieved the body. Also, a little obsession might go a long way to ensuring the job gets done. TIM thinks so at any rate, hence why he sends her and not one of his own people.

Ok, wasn't sure what you were referring to before, but my point still stands. If you're trying to convince someone, giving a reason, even an outlandish one is better than going "just trust me, ok?"