What did you do today in ME?

I have finished the game with Mark the Renegade, and ran through both ending.

Jack was really easy to notice as a phantom, but boy, what a waste of a great character. Annoyingly, her name never showed up on the Normandy's wall. Really, really wish I knew about the time limit on Grissholm. Morinth' appearance I would have missed if I was not actively looking at Banshee's names. Granted, she is the only one in that area, but yeah...

In terms of endings, the Destroy one was really kinda boring, though that's the only one where Shepard seemed to make it. At least Liara did not fix the plaque with his name to the wall, and there was a shot with him drawing a ragged breath in, in the very end. So, I assume that was the vaunted Shepard lives! Ending.

Control, I've liked better, with Shepard narrating it. Plus, EDI survived.

Still, I am an oddball, I liked the Synthesis the most, plus, yeah, I also had all those happy slides on it with everyone having those great endings...

Mark Shepard:

Citadel: Meeting with the asari councilor. She said she knew we were missing the Catalyst for the Crucible and that there was an artifact on Thessia that might help us identify it - an artifact that that has been kept hidden. Only now, when the Reapers are encroaching on them, do the asari care. Imagine if they had given me this information when I first came to them? The worlds that might have been saved?

Thessia: When we arrived, the planet was under heavy Reaper attack. It wouldn't be easy getting to the Temple of Athame to find this artifact. The only types of artifacts we've ever found that helped are knowledge base were related to the Protheans. Liara was a given here, especially since this is her home world, but I also thought Javik might be useful here. I hate leaving Kaidan behind but in this instance I think there are better options.

They were in deep. The Reapers were really there in force. It was as bad as when I'd left Earth. A lot of asari died so that my team could get to the temple. It'll be worth it when we have the Catalyst.

No sign of asari scientists when we got there despite a barrier being in place. Inside, we looked around at artifacts. One stone carving of a servant of Athame bore a striking resemblance to a Prothean. So many artifacts displayed beings that looked like Protheans. Javik confirmed that "Athame" was a sort of amalgamation of the Protheans themselves. History was have to be completely rewritten.

Finally, we found the scientists. They were all dead. There throats had been slit, which ruled out the Reapers as the culprits. Then I sensed the presence of a Prothean beacon. Liara was in denial but it was obvious that the asari had been using information from the beacon to give themselves an advantage - despite Council law requiring that all Prothean artifacts be made public. Now it was costing us. I wonder if it weren't a secret if we would have learned about the Catalyst and reasons why we needed it long ago, maybe even before humanity discovered the Mars Archives. All this might have been avoided.

The beacon needed to be activated and that was done by using some of the artifacts. Javik saw one right off but we had to search for the rest. Once we'd done that, the central statue of Athame crumbled to reveal a Prothean beacon. Once done, the unexpected happen. Another Prothean VI appeared to us named Vendetta. I assumed it would have the answers we need. We learned that the Crucible was not of Prothean design but something going back millions of years with each cycle adding something new to it. Vendetta would interface with the Crucible to help us.

That's when Kai Leng showed up with a holographic interface to the Illusive Man. The Mars Archives had pointed him to Thessia and he was still talking about controlling the Reapers. He was under the delusion that the Reapers merely wanted to control us but I knew from talking to Sovereign, the Leviathan, Harbinger, and the one I'd killed on Rannoch that this was not the case. The intended to destroy us all. Given that Vendetta sends that Kai Leng was indoctrinated it seemed likely the same was true of the Illusive Man. He couldn't see things rationally. He did things that would give the Reapers an edge, just as Vendetta said happened in the Prothean cycle.

After all this time. the Illusive Man was still trying to win me over. I even had him on the defense for a moment but the indoctrination was too strong. He told Leng to get the information from the beacon and to take care of us. Unfortunately, Leng was protected by Plot Armor so he was able to defeat us and run off with Vendetta. Thessia fell.

Normandy: I broke the news to Irissa. She was devastated. I was angrier than I had been when Earth fell. At least there it was the enemy that made sense. Cerberus betraying us made no sense. Even knowing about indoctrination it was hard to fathom this level of deceit. But I'd seen it before with Kenson and her team. I somehow that the Illusive Man's willpower was strong enough to fight back but I guess I was wrong.

Traynor was able to track Kai Leng's shuttle to the same system as Sanctuary, a purported "safe haven" from the Reapers. The shuttle's signal was then blocked. That made it suspicious. Unfortunately, Hackett told me the Normandy was in need of dry dock time and we headed back to the Citadel for that purpose, also forcing us to take short leave. Worst time for it but I understood that we needed crew and ship at its best in order to succeed.

War Assets: 7714 x 99% = 7636.

So, went to the derelict reaper, got the IFF, and used the M920 Cain against the core. Yup, that did in fact work against the core. Killed it in one shot and the cutscene triggered but the game thought I was still in battle against the husks, so had a bunch of husks beating up on me during the cutscene and couldn't
stop them, lol.

Started ME3 with my ME2 import where only Garrus, Legion, and Tali survived. Should be interesting to see what gets left out or filled in with the other character's absences.

Ran through the Mars mission twice before I got my character to look how I wanted (lol). Settled on sentinel for the tech armor.

Also... I totally caught up to Dr Eva Core during the chase scene (like two or three different times). On the ladder, I was basically hugging her ass with my helmet. But the game insisted that I didn't catch her... smh!

Ashley should have never been injured!!! T_T

Took her to the citadel and shepard retired for the night.

I am avoiding picking up either Jack or Grunt. Did Kasumi's mission and now I'm just flying to various systems scanning and doing random stuff. Finished off the infected mech chain and now I'm working my way through Firewalker. Got blown up at the last artifact on the last mission so I had to start over. I really hate that the Hammerhead missions don't have save options. Gotta wonder which geth faction I'm fighting here - either way, I'm not sure their presence is really explained or makes sense.

Miriam Shepard ran some errands...

Met Miranda at a private apartment on the Citadel, hopefully secure from Cerberus' prying eyes. Granted her request for Alliance resources to assist her investigation into her father. She apologized once again for her wish for Lazarus Project to include a control chip, now recognizing her hypocrisy. Accepted her apology; water under the bridge.

Supported Ashley as she spent some time with her sister at the memorial at the refugee camp, mourning the death of her brother-in-law.

Caught up with Zaeed, who offered to put Alliance in touch with some former colleagues who will join the war effort. He has a low opinion of the current Blue Suns leader, unsurprisingly.

At Hackett's request, ordered the Normandy to the industrial colony Noveria, the location of the confrontation with Benezia during the Saren crisis. Took Garrus and Tali to infiltrate a Cerberus fighter base in preparation for an Alliance assault. Covered Tali while she hacked the defenses to enable Alliance squad to attack. Cerberus defenders were largely incompetent. Destroyed an Atlas mech guarding the landing pad, facilitating safe extraction.

Again at Hackett's request, flew to Cyone in the Silean Nebula to assist with restoring power to a reactor, vital for supplying fuel to turian and asari forces. Landed with Liara and Javik, rendezvoused with Alliance Captain Riley on-site. Vented radiation and repaired second reactor while Riley's squad repaired primary reactor, while under fire from Reaper ground forces. Sent Javik to save Riley's squad's asses when they became overwhelmed.

Flew to Tuchanka by special request of Primarch Victus to extract a turian platoon shot down while on a classified mission; platoon led by Victus' son Tarquin, a lieutenant. Took a shuttle with Javik and Tali. Multiple airborne Harvesters, so forced to land some distance from the crash site. Proceeded through the wreckage that is Tuchanka, encountered moderate Reaper resistance, passed turian escape pods with no survivors. Tali mused on Lt Victus' situation, under pressure as the son of a decorated general, not unlike her own experiences.

Rendezvoused with Lt Victus; survivors under heavy fire from Reaper ground forces and Harvesters. Neutralized enemies; tough fight, but no turian casualties. Victus' men were turning on him; mission went south due to bad command decision. Told them that bad calls happen; encouraged Victus to own his mistake, rally his troops and complete the mission in honour of the fallen. He gave an impressive speech; mistake aside, clearly a natural leader.

Classified mission involved a bomb placed on Tuchanka by turians following krogan rebellions and discovered by Cerberus, intending to detonate it to undermine krogan-turian alliance. Bomb located in ruined city; accompanied Victus' squad with James and Tali. Bomb site secured by Cerberus, so landed shuttle some distance away and proceeded on foot, neutralizing Cerberus forces en route. Found Cerberus attempting to pull out; bomb was evidently primed for detonation.

Covered Victus while he disarmed the (enormous) bomb; Cerberus opponents more desperate than competent. Unfortunately, Cerberus booby trap made disarming of detonator impossible; Victus successfully disconnected it, but fell to his death from the scaffold.

Returned to the Normandy with the crisis averted; received a grateful email from Primarch Victus, proud of his son's sacrifice.

[This was a satisfying play session with zero do-overs required.

Great line on Noveria after defeating the Atlas:
Shepard: "Anyone injured?"
Garrus: "Just the usual minor flesh wound."

I left the Tuchanka bomb this late just so I could take Tali; I did it much earlier in my first playthrough, before curing the genophage. Thematically, it fits quite nicely at this point in the story, with the krogan-turian alliance now well established.]

Miriam Shepard visited a monastery...

Overheard Ashley and Tali discussing Lt Victus' sacrifice, comparing the events on Tuchanka with those on Virmire. Subsequently saw Ashley at the Normandy cenotaph telling Kaidan what had happened.

Acting on a request from the asari government, ordered the Normandy to Lessus, a remote asari colony world in the Nimbus Cluster, to respond to a distress call. Commando units dispatched to colony had gone dark. Took a shuttle with Ashley and Tali; received briefing from Liara en route. Distress call originated from a monastery in which Ardat-Yakshi vampire-succubi were quarantined. Suspicion was that one or more had turned on the staff. Commandos brought explosives to level monastery, not expecting to take prisoners.

Landed at monastery, found power to entry area cut, elevator out of action. Proceeded on foot; flashlights necessary. Heard distant screaming, consistent with Reaper biotic units encountered on Mahavid and Namakli. Proceeded into living quarters. Found logs detailing residents' daily lives: comfortable surroundings, highly structured routines, not unlike a boarding school. No evidence of dissatisfaction among the residents; Tali commented on the mercy shown to the Ardat-Yakshi by the asari; other civilizations would likely execute them.

Found dead commandos with injuries consistent with attacks by Reaper infantry.

Proceeding through living quarters, encountered Justicar Samara putting down Reaper troops. Discovered that her daughters Rila and Falere were among the residents. Agreed to join forces with her to attempt to find and rescue them before destroying the monastery. Pressing on, encountered Reaper biotic unit in well-lit atrium; indisputably an asari husk.

Encountered Falere, Samara's youngest daughter, fleeing Reaper infantry. Learned from her that the Reaper biotic "Banshees" are, specifically, mutated Ardat-Yakshi. Learned that commando unit placed bomb in monastery's Great Hall prior to being overwhelmed. Proceeded to Great Hall in the face of moderate Reaper resistance, including one more Banshee.

Recovered asari "Disciple" shotgun. Evaluated it as a sidearm: light, easy to handle, but markedly heavier than Arc Pistol modified with ultralight alloys, necessitating power transfer from biotic amp cooling system to hardsuit structural ergonomics.

Gained access to Great Hall, found Rila with the bomb. Rila attacked Falere on sight, her eyes black; first stage of Banshee mutation. Samara forced to incapacitate her own daughter. Defended bomb from heavy assault by Reaper forces including two Banshees.

Rila regained consciousness, in her right mind; urged party to evacuated while she detonated bomb; wanted to wipe out remaining Banshees before losing her mind completely. Complied with her request, against Falere's objections.

Following evacuation, Samara explained that justicar code does not permit her to allow a known Ardat-Yakshi to live outside a monastery; attempted to commit suicide to free herself from code's obligation; intervened and disarmed her. Falere provided a way out, promising to confine herself to the ruins of the monastery. Samara resolved to return to help her rebuild after the Reaper war is won.

Once again, Reapers prove themselves masters of psychological warfare. Turning the most beautiful and wise of the galactic people into such monsters is sadistic even by their standards. It's a sick kind of mockery. And this is supposedly to preserve life, to solve the problem of organic-synthetic conflict? There are no words to describe how reprehensible the Reapers have proven themselves and their "solution" to be. It ends with this cycle.

Returned to the Citadel to make some deliveries:

• Passed an audio log left by one of the commandos from the monastery to her widow.
• Turned schematics for Cerberus turrets over to C-Sec to assist with cleanup up following the coup attempt.
• Gave schematics for a heating system to Sellea, a salarian concerned about his family's egg clutches.
• Visited the hospital and passed the Rings of Alune, recovered from the Silean Nebula, to an asari consultant; will assist with recruiting asari medical staff. Also delivered chemical burn treatment plans found at Cyone reactor complex; will prove useful for treating injured soldiers.
  
• Gave news to the elcor ambassador that his troops were successfully rescued from Dekuuna. Also returned the elcor Code of the Ancients, recovered from Dekuuna at the same time.
  
• Endorsed nomination of Captain Riley for a commendation following Cyone reactor incident.
  

Caught up with Samara, taking a brief break on the Citadel before heading out to fight; seemed philosophical and fatalistic about the war. Hopefully not a self-fulfilling prophecy; she and Falere deserve some happiness.

Overheard Tali and Garrus chatting over the comm. Sounded like she was dropping some hints that he failed to pick up on.

[Ah, this is a fun one. Nicely atmospheric at the beginning; and Reapers are a bit more fun for vanguarding than Cerberus because they're not constantly breaking my target locks with smoke grenades. The climactic battle required one do-over when I facetanked Warps from both Banshees simultaneously and didn't hit the medi-gel in time.

Because I threw Samara's loyalty mission in ME2 in this playthrough, I wondered whether there'd be some dialogue differences, but nothing obvious stood out.

Here's a shakycam video of my successful attempt. Aside from the first attempt, this was unrehearsed:


Biotic Charge was a bit glitchy in a couple of places, you'll hear some frantic button-mashing when I'm health-gated and desperate for a successful Charge to get my shields back up. There's one point where I stand there and get smacked with a Warp because I'm anticipating Charging straight through it, but it doesn't trigger in time ]

Eternal. Infinite. Immortal.
The woman I was used these words, but only now do I truly understand them. And only now do I comprehend the full potential of her decision.
Through her death, I was created. Through my birth, her thoughts are freed. They guide me now, give me reason, direction. Just as she gave direction to the ones who followed her, the ones who helped her achieve her purpose. Now my purpose.
To provide the many with a powerful leader.
To put an end to the bickering of the many.
To ensure the strongest are not feared or reviled for their strength.
The woman I was knew that she could only achieve this by becoming something greater. There is power in control. There is wisdom in harnessing the strengths of your enemy.
I will restore what the many have fought for. I will lead an army that no one will dare oppose. I will protect, defend. I will destroy those who threaten the future of the many.
And throughout it all, I will never forget.
I will remember the ones who fought so that the many could survive. And I will keep a watchful eye over the ones who live on. Those who carry the memory of the woman I once was.
The woman who fought to become the one who could lead the many.

Pics from the very last session of Neva Shepard:

Sooo, my first time picking Control and I actually liked it, haha. That Renegade speech at the end fits Neva like a glove. Super happy with how it all turned out. Probably gonna miss my little bitch just a tiny bit. It was a lot of fun to play her It's strange now to not start a new Shepard right away, but let's see if I actually manage to really stay away from a new one...Combat overall went well, only I turned the difficulty down at Motherfucking Shields. I didn't have the patience today for the shaky cam

Oh, how I know this sound all too well, and also the waiting around for Charge to decide if it wants to trigger or not

Finished the Firewalker missions, then I had no choice: get Jack or get the krogan. I picked Jack first. While she's down in her hidey hole combing through Cerberus files, Susan's taken Zaeed and Garrus on a krogan hunt. Once that's done she'll be level 16 and it will be time for Horizon.

My ship looked way better when it was a cerberus vessel. God, who okayed these design changes?

Kim had a grand time on the Citadel, many games of Quasar were played. Oh and there was also some poser who tried to pick a fight with Kim. She was disposed off fairly quickly. Kim did die once since she managed to box the poser in and the crews power reload was slower than posers Medi-Gel application. Second time was the charm. Kim tried to spare the poser, but failed. She ended their friend and succeeded.
She then played some rounds in the Arena, until she got the armor. Next she headed out to meet the Quarians and did some missions for them. Only missing the grand finale. She has no friends on either side, so both sides are banking she'll favor them in the next session.
But that's for another day.

And since I've got the top spot. A small picture of Kim. Because I can.