Reyes Vidal - No longer A Mystery (Official Thread)

Hmm, I can imagine him being like this.. for about three hours. Before a message that another super rare beverage was found in some Prodromos storage (or something like that) beeps on the comm (Seriously though, is my Ryder the only one who doesn't mind the secret crime lord identity business at all?)
By the way, mentioning Ryder's favorite vids leads me to wonder what kind of vids Reyes would make Ryder watch...

Well that was fast. I'll check it when I'm done posting.. (in about ten to twelve hours or so )

Ooo, Reyes having an Aria level fortress so early on... well, why not, he has some resourceful guys at his disposal. They can steal something, they can make and tweak something, they can hide the fortress well too. I think that location-wise they might stay true to the cave system, it has worked well for them so far, and after the Pathfinder's kind intervention even the sulfur might clear in some time. Maybe Reyes could even have his place in there, that would explain where he lives (if it wouldn't be a inconvenient position to observe stuff from, that is)
Seriously, you call this overall nice and agreeable squad wacky? And you can put up with me?

Yeah, sure... *Ryder says something indicating that nothing has changed* *Reyes slams her to the wall which would seem like just the thing to get you killed to the common mortal* Ryder's thought goes "cheeky son of a.... *amusement ensues*, oh, whatever, why the fuck not". Romance!

But yeah, it's fitting. It was bound to happen sooner or later. Now I need some proper screens. I've done it in one cave, maybe I'll do it in another cave too. Just give me some time.



He's also always been known to be neutral and kinda opportunistic, so if he avoided the Collective it might look more suspicious then if he worked with them occasionally.... might cost him some contacts but sometimes you can't have it all. That would be kinda fun if you think about it He might even design these jobs for himself, tie them to something that needs to be done. And get to know how his agents perform in the meantime, good way to keep informed. Seems like something he might actually do. I suspect he might get a bit bored being the CEO only with no opportunity to play smuggler.


Hehe, nicely said Made me remember that outcast that complains the the Charlatan being a human in boring if he gets revealed. I guess some might be impressed, but the question is whether demystifying the Charlatan wouldn't be a bigger blow to the Collective than it seems, since even the less cruicail personnel would pretty much know that the Charlatan is on the run and if not directly in the game, then mighty weakened, and as you said, who knows how much loyalty there is around the Collective. They'll have trouble recruiting, lose supplied/bases to the Outcasts, maybe some agents during aftermath fights, somebody might talk to save their hide... he'd rather have some emergency kit ready if he hopes to come back in power. Crux and some people in the base seem pretty content with their situation, though, I'd expect them to remain where they are, and Reyes seems confident he'll handle it in those emails, but he may be either trying to get out with some dignity or underestimating the situation...


That would be pretty ironic, comes to think of it But if they acted before the AI arrived, what other options would they have? Nothing but angara in the whole damn cluster. Even if they acted afterwards, maybe possessing an angara, aka tech they possibly understand, would prove easier before they crack the new species. (Plus Sloane didn’t really listen to Keema or know the angara, so any cthulhu oddities -did you ever see another angara smoke?- would be safely hidden while still seeing what happens around hose in charge)


That could actually be the most plausible reason for their eventual breakup.. too much drama, no matter what it concerned


Oh I wouldn’t. But maybe it could be an option for those feeling annoyed by having to suffer Reyes on their ship. And I didn’t even mean an experiment cage, just imagined him lounging on one of those shelves with plants.
Yeah, as far as aesthetics is concerned, he definitely could Buuut... he could get lazy just being aesthetically pleasing there all day. It would hurt the business if word got out that the Charlatan does nothing these days. As for the bed related scenes, it would actually be nice if Reyes could visit the tempest like Liara in LotSB.
Well, Ryder keeps an open door policy. BUt this is one of the doors that only open after holding the e key, isn’t it?


True. The characterization gets pretty annoying (I’m all but capable of doing my own characterization, thank you very nicely) but I mostly see it the same way as a lacking choice of a written answer, or simply not getting the solution I wanted for a quest. It’s never perfect, voiced or mute.
For me the biggest problem with the Reyes scene is the auto-dialogue, not the tone, though I’d certainly love female Ryder to be as cool with it as her bro. Having no control over what the character says in important moments is way more of a pain than any choice of VA delivery. If there’s something that needs to go... (ties to forced characterization, I suppose)

I like the contradictory part. So much confusion in Kadara Port once the boring was business is over


Threatening it or holding it hostage? Such orgs need people to have influence over, the don’t benefit from being directly threatening I’m not against the highest level shady bad boy romance at all. It would be intriguing to see how far Reyes would get over the course of another game or two... also rewarding as far as the High noon choice goes. I don’t hate Tann either, he just makes a good butt for jokes and shit like that, being the most dumb, uninspired person to lead such an effort in history of any galaxy ever.



Muhehe. Who would have guessed, right? He might perhaps outsmart the yahg even before a battle started, he was pretty dumb. If High noon is any indicator, Reyes is good at this shit. I wouldn’t really expect him to fight any of them. And having Shepard involved is just nor fair. We all know they’re invincible and immortal, Reyes would have to bring Ryder so it felt remotely fair. Plot armor strength, though? If my Death theory is valid, it must be Reyes. Surely Liara can boast no such feat.



I guess she must have worked hard at it, so why not. She never actually shares how much time it cost her and if you can set them off as friendlies right from the remnant consoles, maybe they have some primitive programming only (all they do is shoot intruders anyway)

Well, I can very well see Ryder assisting with the hacking when no one is looking. They work together, after all. And a bot army is a bot army. Always useful when you want to take.. or keep hold on something (hmm, wonder how many remnant bots it takes to wound one angry cthulhu...)

Maybe it also has an auto invisibility function. In that case you must remember carefully where you left it, though or maybe there's a more mundane answer, which is Sloane not understanding what treasure of engineering got left behind in her grasp

And what about the pet shop? That would be lots of businesses to manage in addition to the Collective. Although it would be nice to see him take care of his favorite uncle's hairline. I love how uncle is stuck for Mr. Sniper Guy. He.. sorta looks like an uncle. A stable, chatty uncle who made the trip with his favorite nephew. Yay

I guess Reyes put that stone in there himself. A little detail to make him look cool on the scene

You know how some time ago we went giving Zitrus titles for being A++ informator? I think this is just the thing

Those are the doors, yep. There are the krogan above it and the Collective shuttle right in front of it, under the ridge the krogan are on.



_{orchid You mean the forum in general or the thread?}

Just leaving a few picks of my today's attempt at getting some decent High noon shots



+ One that made me laugh, somebody wake Mr. Sniper Guy, or the entire master plan goes into shit! 


Also, reposting that edit for starlord from my yesterday's post where it may be hard to notice. I already read it. Cool way to set things up. Ends a bit too soon, though Btw could you please delete the rest of my terribly long rant from the quotation? Surely one version is bad enough.

Lol maybe Reyes kept practicing his dramatic speech over and over again before Sloane's arrival, and the sniper fell asleep out of boredom. But it looks like his left eye is ever so slightly open, so it's probably supposed to signify him aiming.

I like the soft look to those Reyes pics, nice work. :smiles:

Hmm. What if for once there was a Mass Effect character that liked genuinely good cinema? It’s been all jokes like Blasto or Fleet & Flotilla so far. They’d also need to avoid the common Star Trek pitfall where people inexplicably love our contemporary (pop) culture and it’s represented as the character’s unusual quirk.

Aria’s fortress was mostly concrete slabs and metal, so yeah, I don’t think Omega level infrastructure would be beyond Reyes’ means. It’s not that far from the Draullirr cave (or whatever it was called) level tech. With more resources, stuff like better security network could be build.

As for the sulfur, well, there goes the moat.

Kidnap me into an erupting volcano and we’ll see how much patience I’ll have left with you.

Wait what, you don’t find the wall slam the hottest thing in the game? I thought that was the highlight of the romance.

Nice. I approve of that mental image.

That’d be a great idea for a pro-Sloane run. Reyes that’s not so good-humored and mellow anymore. Some slight shift in attitude depending on our choices would be interesting, and plausible considering what a huge difference it makes for Reyes’ circumstances. He would have to arrange his left-over Collective in brand a new manner too, considering that the old Charlatan tactics must be thrown away. Maybe he’d start cultivating a more personable approach, with a tighter crew, and more reliance on his charisma. After all, Reyes is charismatic and if he chose, he’d have the ability to learn to use it effectively as a gang leader.

From what I’ve read, the base is (of course) hostile if pro-Sloane Ryder goes there and the prisoners have been executed. Are there any hints towards an evacuation being underway? Reyes himself pretty much gives the location away to Ryder, so I’d imagine that he’d order everyone to leave with as much equipment as they can carry. Killing the prisoners might hint at that as well. At any case, the location is really too close to the Port, and they’d be better off either on wholly other planet or at least on another of Kadara’s continents.

Recruitment would definitely be closed for the foreseeable future. Reyes needs to lay low and only keep the most loyal operatives (or those that are too deep to go anywhere else), until he has a good plan of opposition for Kaetus’ death squads.

Bah, who’d rat him out? The rest of his crew would unfortunately need to find some other place to crash. Maybe Reyes even would refuse the let rest of his people freeze their butts while he enjoying the luxury cabin. (But then again, maybe he would. At least for a spell…)

If Reyes had received the same attention as the squad LIs, this would have happened. Either that or Ryder visiting his home. The scene practically writes itself.

Is it? I thought it wasn’t. Well, good, Reyes is safe, then.

Not perfect, true, but way closer to that than a few voiced dialogues that all say the same thing for all intents and purposes. If a dialogue that can be had in real life (infinite possibilities) and which can never be emulated in a video game is rated as 10, I’d still rather pick the dialogue system that rates as 6 than just be happy with 2.

They could easily go overboard with it, though. Aria Mk. II, Reyes should not become.

Hm yes, Reyes cheats himself a victory. Sounds good to me.

Well, the Initiative has the advantage of that Remnant fleet that Ryder activated. Angara might scramble to reprogram some of the bots for themselves as well. The setting truly starts to get interesting here IMO. What a pity we’ll never see what could happen next.

Did Reyes talk him into accompanying him to Andromeda or vice versa? Is the rest of the family still in the freezers? Will there be a family dinner with Ryder + mom and Reyes and his folks?

Well in my game there was no shuttle, but an escape pod. Not a broken Turian one, but one of those bubble looking ones. Nothing came up scanning it. No Collective property anywhere. Weird!

BloodOfShiagur

I might through in some cliffhangers and abrupt endings here and there. Just to keep people on their toes hahahaha

I created Katia Shepard as my first ever Shepard PC. My latest Shepard was a red head named Quinn who was a bit of a wild card that I created a lot of headcanons for- which made the game I beat what seems like hundreds of times, super fun again. Katia is to honor my first (quite terrible tbh) run, but with Quinn's background + Charlize Theron's Atomic Blonde aesthetic. Should make for something interesting.

Yes I believe so. Reyes is a bad in a good way. It'll be very difficult to forget him (can remember his quest line in order, but can't for the life of me remember Andromedas full plot LOL)

Bad in a good way doesn't equal any kind of bad to me at all, it's more of an indicator this character won't be boring, but yeah, I guess we can still be the dark side alright. Not like there's any "badder" LI in Andromeda. He cheats in duels and shit.

How's the fic going?

Hehe. The effect would be gone, yep, along with all the drama. It would also give Ryder a beautiful chance to break some tense silence with "what the actual fuck??" after the duel situation is resolved, and probably make at least slight shifts in the whole Reyes/Ryder thing, given Reyes would very obviously owe them his life at that point, not to mention a lot of his rep would depend on Ryder keeping this little pice of info to themselves (_{to laugh about only in private}) Also made me wonder how a scene like that would influence the decision making... how many people would look past the fake duel thing as long as it wouldn't actually work? But really, how much shit is anyone able to give their favorite uncle just because he falls asleep in inconvenient places and at the most dire moments due to age?

Well, if not that, I can pretty wel imagine him making finger guns at his reflection in the mirror just for fun, provided he has a mirror, that is. He may have done it back in the Milky way, at least. Bet he counts being melodramatic among his hobbies


Shy? Nope, I just focus on Reyes in these screens, and, quite frankly, it's a nice change from that shitload of Ryder pics my screen folder is spammed with. Plus, if ther were a more messy hairstyle in the game, she'd be using it. She's not the type to have her hair in order when her looks aren't the focus, so it's fitting anyway.


Maybe it's porn with many asari doing alll the stuff anyone can think of, with anything anyone can think of, and that concept killed all competition except maybe some minor indie vorcha on a goldfish porn that's banned in polite society anyway? Ehm. Anyway, Liam talks about a lot of movies, and even more so with his banter with Cora (who's implied to have seen it all as well), so yeah, I guess he's the person. Old sci-fi horro as in old at that time or a really old one?

Maybe I just haven't encountered it enough times to mind it, but I don't really have a problem with this one. Yeah, it's a lazy excuse for not coming up with their own vision of some sci-fi culture, but whatever... It's actually nice that ME tries at least a little.

Oh, yeah, we do have a truce or something, as far as I know. How in the blazes does that relate to a research of volcanic activity which I'm conducting partly because those reports have comforting lava pictures and partly because who knows when knowing recent volcanic activity may yet come to be useful?

Why dumb? I doubt it would be Reyes squatting there anyway, he probably wouldn't do the retrofitting personally. ut if he had to hide for any reason, he could squat in a Remnant vault just as well as anywhere else, I guess. He might be slightly bored, but the purpose of hiding would be served. Also, few would probably look for him there.

Hmm, but maybe when the whole Charlatan thing is revealed, maybe he could complain a little? Surely Ryder would understand a tactical viewpoint, and it's definitely better than unexplainable sulking.

I wonder if he's actually the only independent Li ever

That's a great. It would have to be pretty easy to arrange too, no matter the state of the Collective resources. It's just the matter of letting lose some convenient rumors, nobody knows for sure what happened in that cave. If these were played right they could even make Sloane look delusional, falling into another of Charlatan's traps while he's being ominous somewhere behind the corner. It might make it eaasier to rebuild, though it probably wouldn't stop the Collective infighting (I suppose that one's inevitable. it wouldn't necessarily have to be about the agents not being sure he can run things... maybe they just wouldn't accept him personally. because of the smuggler thing and all.). As for Reyes having it easy in that case, I'm not sure. depends who would oppose him and who would stay with him. He could pretty well find his ass on fire

I must say I never imagined Reyes and Ryder meeting againg under another circumstanes than having to work together for any reason, so some form of cooperation always seemed to go beyond saying. That might well happen, even though I don't know about the cordiality. I'd like it if I went with the pro-Sloane saves. It would fit the RP. If he'd go with the cold thing, his attitude would then be very close to Ryder's.. which would probably leave their relationship cold and professional. Seeing each other as an eventually educational mistake they won't repeat, that would be a fitting resolution to the whole thing, comes to think of it.

Enjoying making out around dead enemies, the messier the preceding scene the better.. that's a whole different character of mine I'm thinking of. To Reyes' disappointment it's not Ryder. She hasn't yet seen so much shit, in a way cares too much, thinks a bit too hard about it all to think getting sweptis fun. Anyway, not getting swept away amounts to the whole thing being a waste? I wouldn't go that far....

Yeah, metagame-wise it makes perfect sense. But if you imagine it in the world of the game, where there are a thousand times more options for Ryder to go, how can Reyes be so sure they'll find exactly that one cave?

Someone's got to fund that effort, I guess (if indeed there is an effort and the whole quest isn't just an elaborate "Collective this way" marker se tup by Reyes) That salarian seemed a bit too well off for Kadara...

Neat way to prevent such unplesantries, even though I'm nor sure how one lonely rodent could damage an entire ecosysten.. in a cluster that barely has one funtioning ecosystem to speak of. That would be quite a feat.

Nah, nothing that harsh, I suppose he must have some emergency plans, maybe the Collective already has some hideouts prepared just in case (the Charlatan provides, after all, right?) I just doubt he'd let them squat at Ryder's quarters. (I also doubt Ryder woul be so generous as to allow that)

I guess the crew would know one way or another, the Tempest is not that big. It would probably be for the best to come clean right away and expect no one will run their mouth about it (Hell, it's Ryder's ship anyway. If Ryder says the Charlatan will be squatting around quietly for a few weeks, who can stop it from happening?)

It didn't seem to be the case, according to the range of reponses he could get from Ryder. I suppose it wouldbe fine as long as the writer didn't change or something... I'd actually expect Reyes expanding his influence to serve as a good base for quests in any future sequels, it would be a wasted opportunity if in a sequel everything would be just ideal for his business... especially the power struggles seem likely to be there, either concerning Keema and her guys or some ambitious individuals within the Collective itself... The same goes for the AI, surely they wouldn't like an exile gang expanding into their territory, plus quandaries, nosy teenagers and the like. The tricky part about the Angara is that they may not know what species the Charlatan is, though.

A sweet way to put it. And actually true.

I'm pretty sure I saw them before that, since in my first pt I missed the water quest. It seemed a bit low priority and then I forgot all about it.... (_{I must admit I have nothing against a locked door or two, open world or not. A clear indicator of "you don't have to go there now, it will be involved in a quest", which is good for planning and prevents annoying need to revisit locations as well as weird shit from occurring (there's this one memory of Oblivion that makes me lol to this day, which convinced me some boundaries are fine).}

BloodOfShiagur

It's going pretty well! I don't want to confirm anything because I'm always late, but it's working out quite well. Aria and Reyes are hilarious together tbh.

I have two one shots in the work for Life is Strange and Persona 5 as well, so I'm keeping busy! Hahahaha

Yay, Aria and Reyes together. This should be fun

I think even the game would forget it just as it seems to forget Mr. Sniper Guy the moment his part is done, so it would be quite easy to miss.  But, actually, allowing Reyes to lose specifically because he's cheating anyway.. that would be one hell of a coldhearted choice. I may or may not like it (although I probably wouldn't have the heart to take it, and then regret there's no "hey, I saw you trying to cheat, you know!!" dialogue) Hopefully Reyes knows better than to let ego get in the way of business like that (doesn't seem that type to me either), but it kinda makes me wonder whether he'd be secretly sulking about his moment being ruined like that. As for the unplesantness of it, I'd mostly expect it to hinge on the state of their relationship... one doesn't necessarily need to mind that they owe their life to their partner in crime.. but it gets worse the less trust there is. Hard to actually tell how's the state of affairs with these two

Maybe he's done it so many times he doesn't need a mirror. Or it's just the way it looks all the time, no special effort needed Well, I guess that's caused either by powers beyond Reyes' control, aka the devs, or difficult access to decent clothes (at least for the time being) not really his fashion sense


Plus if someone just camps over the entrance, you're ultimately fucked. Hmm, actually there might be one even worse problem, which is that no SAM amounts to no getting inside or doing anything with all those nice useful consoles, so any aquatting would have to reserved to the entrance halls... and pretty much ineffective. I think the AI might simply be too short of people to send them into vaults they can get almost nothing of, but the technical problems are there for everyone. If you think about it, they're the reset to repair climate material and little more, unless you really like hiding under weird alien consoles (_{that said, there's upposed to be lots of stuff we don't know about Reyes} )


Good point, but you need to consider Reyes is fucked anyway. There's an insanely pissed off pirate warlord having him hunted all over he cluster, it's not like he could run his smuggler operation like nothing happened, Charlatan or no Charlatan (actually, I can imagine Sloane wanting him dead much more for trying to fuck with her). He'll have to go into hiding, eventually reinvent himself (or walk around in a helmet like you once suggested), plus the expendable joke viewpoint would mostly depend on what kind of rumors would get among the people afterwards. It could easily be seen like he's allied with the (still ominous) Charlatan and the whole joke is on Sloane.

Yep, but fighting for scraps seems like the way to go around the cluster, so there's always a chance some asshole will try. Though maybe it wouls still be easer to wait and striken onlyonce the goundwork is done. There's something funny about the idea of someone accusing Reyes he's not really the Charlatan (It wouldn't actually make it any easier for him if he'd pretended not to be the Charlatan before )  They wouldn't have to underestimate him at all, though. If they knew his identity, they'd probably be well aware of what he's capable of and would prepare accordingly if they had any brains to beging with.


Agreed, but it would still be no wonder, given how he hints at it in those e-mails of his. A lame way to level a choice, but then this character has always done what he pleased... I'd hope that any future interaction with Reyes would be as free of Kadara as possible if he isn't actually in charge. If he has a network of spies, assassins and whatever, the focus might as well be shifted elsewhere.

Who knows, things might get better if a sequel were to be made (which it most likely won't), so someone would actually remember things like nuanced dialgues. They're not forgotten completely, are they?

I think this particular experience would be a lesson to both, really. Unless Reyes had done similar shit in the MW, he'd new to it himself. Thinking of that, SAM should've had a line when the romance was broken due to High noon events... surely that's just as intense an experience as committing and shit...

Hehe, you know Reyes just wants to have the most swell cave for a hideout he shows off to potential allies (alternatively, maybe he just hopes that the cave is notable enough for Ryder to find?) It's not really like tourism flourished on Kadara so no one will just poke around a cave, no matter how impressive it is. I think someonementions there are loads of caves on Kadara.. but I could be mistaken.

They did have those prisoners stashed away just out of sight, though, so there may have been no less propaganda than the rescruitment salarian. Just a thought, anyway. The real mystery is the button. Might as well been the ultimate test of Ryder's character

But these mostly wouldn't classify as cheating. I've always supposed Reyes' luck stat is pretty high.

  Vetra posing with Collective guys. They should do a callendar or something.
Hmm, an outfit thief? Reyes' evil cousin? A first glimpse of far reaching conspiracy?

If it isn't Zitrus, straight from wherever   I was getting worried the Elaaden heat got you.

So the answer is... it's chaos out there? Should've expected that, really. If the Collective can expand to Elaaden, well, why not the outcasts? Still it's strange they are all so hellbent on establishing their presence precisely on that one spot.

But those were those random raiders, right? Still no proof of Collective or Outcast angara? Either way, let me just poit out it's weird. Why would any angara join those guys? (Yeah, I suspect I know the answer. Same as always. Chaos )

Comes to think of it Mr. Sniper Guy's hair texture is slightly similar to that of a poodle... so why not, I guess? But Reyes wil need more stuff in that case. He can't be that multitalented.

I'm not sure Reyes would appreciate anyone running around in the same vest as him, though

Before I begin, let me just apologize for a growing number of typos plaguing my posts lately. I'll do my best to behave.


Is that even possible? I'm not sure I ever saw the worm do anything besides hopping merrily around in the dunes. If it can't hurt Ryder and co., why would it be made to damage random raiders, save for some cool effects.. which are never seen? Still, it's weird that the Kadara factions just happen to spawn at his place and nowhere else. I suppose both of you tried it post High noon, so it's confirmed the spawns are independent of the events?


Hmm, maybe the feared twisted arm syndrome is actually a thing is ME universe, so they're just being true to the lore? 



Yeah, it's a fine idea, and the shuttles are probably used for travel between planets, has anyone ever seen any MW ships save for the Tempest? But is the shithole desert planet really the best place for a birthday party? Krogan, raiders, boring sky, no night sky to watch, the worm and all that... the asteroid that should've been the turian home sounds more fun. I don't think even throwing said party in that nice house surrounded by those red trees would save it. Unless Reyes actually likes the heat, that is. 


Me? Whatever are you hinting at, my friend? I know of no dark conspiracies, let alone take part in them or financially support them from my shadily acquired funds.   

Heehee, that's a good one. But what is it he's wearing now, then? A spare copy he bought in case he lost the original vest due to unforeseen circumstances? Aaand, if that guy won all the booze in Milky way, why is he in Andromeda in the first place? The mysterious Charlatan setting the trends for the cluster, now that would be an irony. 


Ryder looks very relaxed in there just soaking up the sunshine, so why not?  I was thinking more of something like 2820 calendar- The Collective and AI shots edition. To celebrate joining forces and raise some funds, you know.


Ah, yeah, that. The angara among the Collective fighting forces must have slipped my mind. I'm not sure about the random angara, though. Probably depends what kind of angara lived there before the exiles. It's not like the exile raiders had the upper hand on Elaaden like they do on Kadara, there's way more room for fighting about the little the planet can offer.



I don't really know either. I'd say he might get pretty vengeful, not really out of anger or anything, just as a way of settling debts, but a part of me can't help but think he'd be too practical for that kind of thing. Maybe if he got an opportunity to get back at Ryder he wouldn't let is pass, but he doesn't really strike me as the type to actively seek for a way to do so.

I kinda think he'd try to repay the debt sooner than the cthulhu start meddling, but it's true that he might keep an eye for something similarly significant before he'd really consider it paid. Hehe, I wonder if the Cthulhu would be satisfied with all that new officially unsanctioned creation coming into their cluster (well, if Reyes were the first human for them to see....) 

Yeah, sure, but then he wouldn't be able to check the result, which might lead to him being nervous anyway. Plus it will require quite some talent to actually find a decent barber among the colonists


Or maybe I'm not, because vanity is a good thing to mention at this point. There's quite a chance Reyes would not be running or distancing himself from the events, because it might look like he's trying to simply weasel out of the mess. He might come out of that looking spineless and even more untrustworthy than usual, which very likely wouldn't serve his interests at all. Seems more like the time for him to show he can get shit done to keep his little operation together, which would seamlessly lead to the gang route as the way to go. Rogue leaders only go as far, I guess.

Although, for the rumor part, I still hold it that it would depend on what's the common knowledge about the incident. People would probably have noticed the fuss at Outcast HQ, and know about the attack on Kaetus, so they could easily put together who was in charge of the events and that their plans were thwarted only by someone's quite unexpected appearance. (Guess that Ryder's acting in Sloane's favor is well known, makes it easier to explain the sudden aliance thing). That wouldn't make seeing Reyes as a scapegoat that obvious.

True. Comes to think of it,if the whole reasoning were that someone simply doesn't want that particular smuggler asshole in charge, that's a pretty gross underestimation of his abilities to begin with . Should that situation really arise, I'd expect either of these could happen, though.



Or he might just move to one of the uninhabited planets. He'd need to stay hidden anyway and Elaaden might prove dangerous in that regard. 

That's an interesting one. If nothing else, I guess Reyes could use the fact he's their agent to get out of Sloane's reach, but I don't know how that would end for the Collecive. After all, it was still Reyes himself who helped them and not any organization of his (unless he had his agents do the jobs, really) Would the angara really consider something like that relevant to them in any way, or just feel relieved that a growing faction of the new aliens has been stumped for a while?

I suppose he doesn't ask. As far as I remember it's a commitment dialogue only, so it makes sense if it never comes up with a single Ryder. (Hehe, but how great would it be if the dialogue just appeared at some point and there would be a "I don't actually care about this bullshit, SAM, go ask the asari or something" option). Or maybe the rooftop scene could be generally seen as the commitment point, and either breaking up or going pro-Sloane would be treated as breaking up... which could have a dialogue of it's own. Hmm, actually, where's the chance to ditch the LIs save for breaking their poor hearts at the commitment scene? I swear I saw a few of those in BW games... Agreed, more SAM dialogues would've been better. An additional companion treatment would've been nicer than portable thermometer treatment anyway. 



Can he, though? He always seems to find a way. No matter how off the record he does it, he still does it.

Yep, but there's a high chance they didn' t do that. I wonder if there actually was someone Sloane saw as competition enough to keep watch on them. Plus there actually couldn't have been enough people to found all those unaffiliated little gangs unless the AI had many, many stowaways...


Think he knows? 

Uh-oh. Following Zitrus 's helpful advice from earlier, I switched the game’s language to French and made a great new femRyder. And since the French Vetra sounds absolutely adorable I decided to romance her this time. However. At first I thought that since Reyes isn’t voiced by Boulton, I’d be good… But no, it’s not that easy, because the French Reyes is, in fact, also good and cool (check the French Reyes romance vid I posted in the Post Your Ryders thread). What do I do?? Ah shit, I’m going to cave in and have Ryder break Vetra’s poor heart, aren’t I?

For the record, from the new Tapestry feature:
Edit: Lol ok, the website for some reason had issues showing the images, maybe because of my monitor being too wide? Idk. Here goes:


That's... not as flattering a picture of Reyes as he'd deserve. Funny thing that the official artists tend to give him stronger jaw than what he has in the game. I honestly prefer him the way he's in the game. Still, it's a fun pic. The duel picture is great, me like. Someone post the other options, if Reyes is featured in them too, please. Edit 2: I figured out how to turn the hidden shit on; here's the pic for not taking sides on Kadara:


Oh okay, I thought it would act like a huge thresher maw. I even have a faint recollection of someone cursing how they died to it in the Nomad, but I guess that’s not it then. I simply didn’t get a raider spawn to begin with that time.

Yeah, post-High Noon, though I never saw Outcasts that I know of.

Lmao that’s true and I had not realized it. The Tempest is the only actual Milky Way ship. And even the Angara tend to just use shuttles too, right? That leaves the Kett. Oh and Ryder’s magically activated Remnant fighters or whatever those things were.

I bet the Turian parties harder, too. But maybe Reyes is always super cold, explaining his layer wearing, and thus he actually loves Elaaden and dreams of getting to retire there one day? A deal breaker for Ryder, finally.

Yes yes, and have no mysterious, clandestine plans involving volcanoes and feeding innocent, faultless people into them either, mhmm? In fact I should just completely relax my guard, shouldn't I?

Lol, the selection of booze at the Elaaden house includes various Milky Way varieties, that’s what I meant. I figure Reyes would feel homesick, if not for nothing else then at least quality drinks. I suspect the vest was indeed lost, but by the time Ryder next visited Kadara, it had already been recovered by the famed Collective Krogan infiltrator, the act seen by none.

Well, maybe if Reyes can’t get his hands on some good-looking clothing, he can do the next best thing and make his stupid vest the hottest fashion item in Heleus.

Ryder has turned his back in despair to spare him the sight of whatever it is that Vetra and that Collective girl are doing. I'm not sure this operation is going to collect them any funds, unless they turn the concept into a shirtless Reyes 12 months calendar (Ryder buys dozen).

Hehe, I’m not sure Reyes charm would bite on the cthulhus. But I do think that the Collective’s satellite recording the Hole was a definite sequel hook. Reyes would be the perfect information provider in that kind of case. It would even work for pro-Sloane Ryder, if the threat was big enough, that Reyes would relay the information despite personal enmity.

Yes, that’s my opinion too. He’d have to adapt to the new situation. A great chance for character growth.

I pictured the rumor going as the real Charlatan propping Reyes as a puppet. This would also work with how Reyes never literally says “I am the Charlatan”, he just says “surprised?” to Ryder’s exclamation. I mean, it’s obvious to us, but once rumor mill got going and the facts got obfuscated, who’d know what was what. It wouldn’t be entirely unlike how Reyes has Keema on the throne and probably doesn’t do much to discourage the random rumors of her being the Charlatan. People starting the rumor would suspect that Reyes was meant as such a figurehead, and having him meet Sloane served additionally as protection for the real Charlatan should things go south.

Oh, the Collective would be gone, scattered to the winds. It would just be a refuge for Reyes and maybe a couple of his closest men. The Angara's relief at having a potential threat wiped out is real enough prospect. Yet even so, keeping Reyes close would offer a chance to keep an eye on him, and they would know how useful he could be if kept around. I don’t think it would be impossible. Angara can be very practical, if they could get over any potential fear of letting him stay near.

I think one of the replies to SAM is noncommittal… The casual one, I think? Ah, and you can refuse to answer the question altogether, which is good.

Yes, since you meet Reyes so late in the game, it would make sense that the commitment scene came earlier. Especially if there was a chance to break up during High Noon. It would help with making the romances more natural things that occur between people instead of the still somewhat common “speak three times, be rewarded with a sex scene” mold. On the other hand, though, there’s the thing about Reyes not committing before he can safely reveal his identity, and changing that would be bad. So, I think I’d prefer the “waypoint” romance flag for the roof scene where you’re clearly interested but not yet a definite item, and keeping the actual commitment where it is now.

Reyes is quite the show-off, isn’t he…

Well, if we entertain my theory of Reyes attaining CHIM, then surely he does?

True, but I feel that’s just for resources rather than wanting to expand any colonies or other significant influence. I haven’t paid much attention to Outcast lore tho so I might be dead wrong.

They’re doing either “the thing” or “it”, so I think they’re still debating which horror movie to choose for their monthly movie night. (Please don’t kill me.) Oh well, I guess I was wrong about Sloane being content with Kadara. It’s been a constant point that pro-Sloane folk have had in her favor that she’s not as predatory about expanding as the Collective purportedly is, and I’ve just gone with it. But it looks like Sloane, too, is busy all over the cluster. Thanks for all the info gathering, I'd never had bothered to focus my eye on Outcast stuff.

Also allow me to wonder at naming a ship as “Local Boy”. 

It's still damn hot, I suppose. _{(Suddenly I remembered my Ryder's foolish wish to be on Elaaden when it first rains. And stand in that fucking rain all the time} ) A pool, how cool is that. Now that's one thing Elaaden's good for. Pool parties!! On the other hand, Kadara is already a great place for those. Natural pools and all that and geysers to top it all. Guess it still comes dwn to preference, though. and there  may be a slight chance Reyes would be a little sick of Kadara afte those long month spent there.

I always suspected that was about the rebellion, but it may not make any sense, so maybe the attack on the Port? Or some shady business, Keatus summoning voodoo.. or what Orchid says, because even the Outcasts need to have fun? However, I think that if Sloane were to greenlight any movie, it would have less thriller and more space murder.

Hmm, when you put it like that, the only way I see for the angara to join is if they don't actually taste that good, otherwise it gets too risky for them (if indeed your average not-so-well-off angara can overcome their mistrust for aliens). Who knows how many exiles would feel less guilty about stewing a native species?

Poor Vetra, she's been through this with my Ryder and now with yours... the worst about this is it's not like she deserved it. I don't think she's going to let Sid join the Collective anytime soon

Tapestry feature? Why? Strange. Is that an origin thing? I haven't checked in a while. Agreed, that's not very flattering, seems SAM wasn't involved this time. The duel pic is the best of these... maybe because Reyes looks most like his game self, really.

Yeah, theysaid it, but it was kinda off the record. It didn't happen anywhere where you could see it, so I still expect that this power of the worm isn't actually featured. We know it can happen, but we never get to see it, that kind of thing. Or I just missed it,which is pretty sad.

Weird. But, actually, considering the zero reason for either of the faction's presence, could it be that Ryder's going crazy in the heat?

The Kett have ships. Which actually gives them quite a advantage over the shuttle peasants that live in the cluster, until Ryder conveniently acquires the remnant stuff

Which Turian? Yeah, sure, in the end Ryder and Reyes break over where to spend their holiday. Or alternatively they break up over Ryder tinkering with the vault and causing the temperature drop (first the natural defenses on Kadara, and now this? And those stolen satellites to boot?)


There surely must still be a few he could acquire. And having to track those bottles down and then think of clever strategies to get them might be fun Now that's a quest worty of a legend. Someone should make a movie abot the Krogan inflitrator recovering the vest.

That must be it. Or... he actually really likes the vest. For, err, sentimental reasons. Another deal breaker for Ryder?

He still manages to look very chill about it, though. Reyes actually can't be featured with his secret identity and shit... too bad, nice excuse for him parading around shirtless. Vetra and her dealings with Collective girls will have to do.

You think he'd have no chance with them? Maybe he could chat them up if his looks weren't enough When there was still a chance there would be a sequel, I was sure that was the way things were going. In the end his ruling the Kadara Port may not prove as important as the work of the Collective in general, after all. Kadara's one planet (though very likely a good place to base your operation, if you can keep yourself in power), while Reyes seems to be angling for more influence, which opens the door to a whole lot of possible ways for him to get involved in whatever Ryder's doing. Whether he hold the port or not should still have some major consequences for the Reyes/ryder interaction, as well as the Collective's actual power, but other than that we'd never even have to see the Port again.  It would be interesting to see how it would be handled.

Definitely. However this might get tricky with the branching, as there would have to be two versions of the character. His position as the power in Kadara Port surely wouldn't leave him the same either, but very likely not in the gangy fashion, unless something serious happened. Hmm, you know, we've always been considerng only the option og having the High noon choice negated just by Reyes taking over the Port anyway... but what if the actual way of doing it would bethe opposite one, as in Reyes getting in trouble no matter what?

The Keema rumors are nothing but beneficial, and make other possible Charlatan suspects conveniently vanish in the shadows, why stop them. But with the not-really-Charlatan rumors, there'd probably always be a chance such a rumor would spread, Reyes willing or not. Considering how elusive everyone though the Charlatan to be, wouldn't it make sense for such a suspicion to become quite common?

A little conspiration theory- what if he really weren't the Charlatan? What if it's actually mr. Sniper guy or someone equally close to explain Reyes' knowledge of all the Charlatan stuff? That would stir things up. Plus, yet another deal breaker for Ryder, I guess. ("Now you're telling me you were lying about being the Charlatan the whole fucking time? ")

Depends on how useful Reyes would be on his own, without a spy network to back him up, I suppose. We know he's a capable smuggler, maybe even a useful agent, but the angara probably have plenty of those of their own and he's been compromised, so his big advantage (being from the Milky way) doesn't really count for anything anymore. Reyes would just have to go out of his way to stir up the angaran practicality.

You can refuse to get touchy feely talking about it... but if it's any indication, I only got that dialogue right after completing High noon (or maybe some other lock-in? I don't really remember, I did a few of these experiments) and returning to the Tempest, never without a commitment.

There's no sex scene in the romance so it's already out of the mold And really, I can't imagine any way around it. Games have pretty limited space for interaction with NPCs (_sadly)... Agreed. Waypoint flag it is. (here comes my roekaar cave complaint again... after the rooftop scene, now that's the time for people to start commenting)

It's a part of the charm, I guess. Especially when the show's been flawlessly planned in advance. Gotta respect that.

True. But then he could surely go for the duel himself, how could he lose? (but yeah, I guess it's clear he just planned it as one big takeover show off morning)

That looks like a dire case of someone being out of fantasy for coming up with names But it's good they used Local boy (still referred to as she, lol), because Local girl sounds... well, unprofessional, to say the least.

Hmm, that's a good point. I just thought of the dance scene when I saw the picture. It's also nice the wink made it to the card

Yeah, I thought the same thing, then remembered how quickly they buried the game... it's still strange to release a keep for it. If they were in such a hurry to be rid of MEA completely, what good would statistics even be? (btw if it were the only way to get the statistics, I'd be completely fine with it. The less telemetry or anything poking through my files, the better )

I'd be pretty wary of any matchmaking opportunities... something tells me it probably wouldn't end well. Surely Vetra can handle herself in those matters, with a little help from her (pathfinder) friends when needed. No need to take initiative, though. (for all we know, maybe she's already - secretly, how else- dating the Krogan inflitrator)

It's been my theory since me and Zitrus dicussed this a few months ago. If Kaetus claims to come from Natanus, what other possible explanations are there? Hmm, turian scales? (you know, since they don't have hair or anything). An offering of Horosk? Making a few explosions instead of burning candles? Expert level conjuration and an appropriate sacrifice? But the trick isn't to summon a random Turian, so the requirements will probably be higher.

He's a resourceful one for sure. (Bonus points for making people imagine ominous music in his ads). Too bad the shuttle's a bit too small for proper partying... guess all his parties need to be geyser parties for now (it's cool anyway). Might be interesting if we got to see where he's gotten after some time. Parallel to the Collective, a new moonhsine empire rises

On the other hand, they could get a pet remnant mega structure (commonly known as the worm). Plus the pet shop will still need air conditioning so the animals should be fine Not actually saying Elaaden's acceptable, I agree with your rejection of any such plans. I kinda think that the planet Ryder and Reyes would retire to has not been discovered yet. (Although that hidey hole asteroid would also make at least a  good vacation spot)

Yep. They only need a funny salarian sidekick and it's complete (Unless Mr. Sniper Guy isn't too busy watching over Reyes, that is)

_{Be glad you've never played DAI. Ryder has nothing on that demeaning beige atrocity the Inquisitor was forced to wear in the patch and mod-less days of that game.} And if modded? Well, at least one thing when Ryder can cheat and Reyes cannot.

All of which was, of course, orchestrated by Reyes so that he could pursue Ryder free of competition. (It's actually funny... Ryder surrounded by shady procurement specialists who have the hots for them )

I don't know... while it would be quite a sight, would that attract the kind of supporters he needs? At the worst scenario, he goes on like that for a while and suddenly his respectable merc/intel thing is gone and he wakes up one day being the new Consort or something.

He might (especially if it proves right that he really aims for some at least semi-legal status), but I don't think I'd expect it to happen in the most immediate sequel, the situation with the exiles would have to take quite a sharp turn (which is not actually saying it couldn't happen. The angara also got an embassy pretty quick). This aside, doesn't seem there's reason to invite them just yet, maybe this can wait till they expand beyond the Kadara borders and become a more notable power, less like a gang and more like the Shadow broker org. Still, I don't really know about the SB embassy, it only seems to appear in ME1 and afterwards all dealings with the Broker are ninja level clandestine... But since the Collective calls the shots on a planet, they may even be in a better position for such diplomatic moves.

(Btw, thinking about this, I remembered Reyes saying he wanted peace... such a modest reasoning for a greedy ambitious show-off like him... unless he meant some peace and quiet for eventually fulfilling his ambition, with a nice tyrant-free profitable base of operation as a bonus)

Not really, since the base for my thinking was getting the Port and its power plays out of the picture, as it looks like the easiest way of leveling the situation as far as Reyes and his character development are concerned. If Sloane stayed in power, Sloane could still be in power (unless somebody else got her in the meantime), people would still be mad about it and that would be it, I guess. If Reyes is in power, well, shit went down and he ended up generally in the same situation as if he lost during High noon. Although that would be a loss of an important hub and since Reyes isn't the type to just get booted out of somewhere, Kadara would have to return sooner or later anyway. Which points back to the core of the problem- it's totally cool that it's indicated Reyes would still have to be counted with if there were any predictions of the future, but how can a possibly major character that can either come out at the top or the verry bottom of the pile, be handled without having to write two very different versions of him?

But one has to admit it would be fun. At least it would actually be a shocking twist (some suspected his Charlatan identity for sure, but who would suspect his non-Charlatan identity?)

 It sort of works for both, yeah They should have their own way of naming ships, but this seems dangerously cose to the MW style, as if some angara tried to mimic it with, ehm, local flavor.