Sometimes, looking through this site and seeing all the mediocre, crappy stories, I ask myself why I even bother coming here. Then, I come across a story like this, a "diamond in the rough." It's stories like this that keep me coming back. This is probably among my top five favorite fics I've ever read. The characters are believeable and relatable, and you make the reader care about a character that they knew nothing about in such a short story. The writing, characters, and plot made for one of the most emotional and...just damn good reads I've had in a long time. Thank you for this gem!

I feel really sorry for David but it also mean that you write great story. You're amazing writer :)

This is the problem with people and 'morals' now a days. When they see a crinimal they think 'this man raped a woman' or 'this woman murdered an innocent man'. They then proceed to think 'well if i did this i would be horrofied and disgusted with myself so this is what the crinimal must be thinking' and this is were youre wrong. Other people are driven by diffrent sets of morals and how each person thinks is totaly diffrent form the next person. When that man reinar killed himself he died with no regrets and LOVED what he had done. To cause horror to a man like that, phyisacal pain isnt the path to walk, you would have to break his mind and reveal to him the horror of what he had done, for without his 'reasoning' he gave himself to justify what he had done, he would be broken. To reveal the sick man he is would break him. Letting him live after what he had done and for him to go to jail, wouldnt have solved anything and reiner would have spent the rest of his life content with what he had done. Think about it.

What a fantastic story. It really evoked emotion within me. Especially the end... Yeah.. Welled up a bit, but thats just how good this is, it's fantastic. Well done.

Beautiful. I could write paragraph upon paragraph about the technical merits of this, the brilliant plotting, the fact I cried reading it (real men aren't afraid to hide their feelings!), how David was the OC I wish I could write. Hell, I wish I could do anything this good.

But writing that stuff wouldn't do it the justice one word can. Beautiful. Thank you for writing this, an absolute joy to read.

Oh, you seem to never cease to amaze me with your abilities in literature.

The characters seem to come alive along with the words, and Rin...

Well, on the bright side, David got his forgiveness, and not his revenge.

Love is like a Krogan (This may be a strange simile, but it makes sense to me), no matter how many times it is injured, it will always find a way to regenerate.

Kudos for a wonderful story.

I'm really sorry I haven't reviewed before, the prospects just seemed so intimidating. But I figure a story that can have me come back and read through it over ten times definitely deserves one.

In short, there's a reason this is one of my three favorite stories on the entire site. It is absolutely brilliant. I don't cry when I read stories, watch movies, anything. This is probably the closest I've ever actually come to losing it, though.

David is the greatest OC I've ever read. He feels so human, fully fleshed out. For all intents and purposes, David is a living, breathing being.

And the ending was perfect. Generally I enjoy renegade endings, but I couldn't help but feel that this is the only way this could remotely have been ended.

And okay, I can't lie anymore. I did cry a bit. It was beautiful.

You had a happy(ish) ending? Dang, i'm beginning to wonder if you really are cannedcream. Good stuff. Incredibly powerful emotionally, couldn't read it in one sitting.

BTW, you posted it twice...

no truer words were spoken " Revenge is easy, forgiveness is hard"

Not sure how I managed to go this long without writing a review. Just noticed today I didn't; so here I am rectifying that situation.

This story is great. That would be the short way of explaining it. The way in which you blend an original character into the bigger picture of Shepard's mission is something to behold. I found the name of "David" for the main character as almost ironic. Its just so... normal. When compared to your Grunts, your Thanes, your Mordins... it just seems right that the protaganist have such a normal name.

And perhaps this normality is what makes his relationship with Rin so vivid. You captured in their relationship the very essence of what made TaliShepard such a likeable duo: the personalities, the challenges of loving an alien, and the joys in overcoming it. I will admit, I was looking forward to them finishing their ship and riding off into the sunset.

This emotional groundwork you lay, overshadowed by the lurking reminder that David is a planted "spy", makes David's eventual discovery as a "planted crewmember" all the more painful. His memories of Rin, his rage at the a perpetrators... its almost palpable. This sets up the ending perfectly, although I must admit that I was gunning for a Mortal Kombat-esque beheading for the monster that did such... actions... to Rin. He deserved it.

So, as I said, a great story. An original story planted within the overarching framework of Shepard's mission. And nothing contradicts. For all we know, this could have actually happened. Some say the suspension of disbelief is an integral part of any fiction story. If so, I think you just that. To me, David and Rin were real. And its that realness that makes this story so depressing. So painful. And so good.

~Redtracer7

Also:

*Clears Throat*

((CANNEDCREAM!))

I must say that was very enjoyable. You evoked some very powerful emotions and I must say I'm impressed. You got me a little choked up over that. Which is a feat. I don't usually show physical signs of emotion even when the experience is real and that you managed it with your writing does you a great amount of credit. I look forward to reading the rest of your collection of works.

On a side note, the story itself is in the posting twice. I saw this and I had hope for a non-Paragon ending where he gets the closure and justice he deserves. I personally hate Paragon Shepard. I also equally hate Renegade Shepard. I myself am more of a Paragade or Renegon. Not sure which but I believe everyone deserved the vengeance they desired. And I let them have it as I wished poor David would have gotten. I may not like the way it ends but it's believable and also to me shows the truly sadistic Shepard.

Absolutely wonderful. Kudos for creating a deep and moving original character. Furthermore the dialogue, especially from Shepard, was spot on... it really came out in the same manner that paragon Shepard speaks in-game. Finally, you did a great job of not specifically describing Shepard or talking about his past, thereby allowing anyone to envision their Shepard in your story (at least, their paragon Shepard).

Very good story, I enjoyed reading it alot! Very good ideas and I got angry when Shepard did his therapist bullshit again lol. SO yeah, brilliant.

One thing though for future writing, when you're writing a question in dialogue, you must put a question mark "?" to show that, at the end of the sentence.

A beautiful, sad tale filled with pure emotion and humanity. A masterpiece. Well done.

This is, quite possible, one of the most moving pieces I have read in my life. Excellent work, and thank you, sir.

Wow...just wow.

I heard about your Fanfic on the official BW forum, where it was praised and all, but I honnestly didn't expected it to be THAT good...really.

You manage to build up several character, to make us feel sorry/angry for them...That's talent man, really.

There are a few spelling and grammar errors in the text, sure, but they do not disturb the pace of it all...

A very good fic, very, very good one...