I dont know if I've said this already in a different review, but first off I love this series. The main draw for me was I felt your portrayal of the end of the shadow broker DLC was the most realistic I've seen. All that trauma and hurt being swept under the rug by a few cheesy lines and a couple of kisses always rubbed me the wrong way in the games, and for some reason most fics maintain that storyline. However, in a realistic scenario, if shepard really loves liara she would see the pain that being with her brought to liara. It may be a misguided attempt to protect her, but it is the most realistic response to the scenario in my opinion. Well done.

Second read thru, still as immersing as the first, awseome story!

wow, what an epic ride and thank you so much for sharing this story with us!

i loved the changes to canon and how you dragged out the 'is she dead' (my coming late to the party aside) doubt until the very end. must have been agonising for ppl reading as this was posted. liara/aria was adorbs.

i came for the delicious shiara angst but i stayed for the OCs, action sequences and changes to canon.

have to say you lost me there with the romances. i know there's a ashanda companion fic and maybe that would've fixed my nagging feeling that it all happened so fast for them but tbh i'm just not that invested in the ship. i was much happier to see lucy and susannah back together tbh! sad for sam of course but I'm sure she'll manage.

i don't mean this as crit because i've come to learn that what i personally find romantic does not mesh with most other readers. but i just adored your shiara right until they got together again and i've spent some time trying to figure out why.

it's almost like the relationship swallowed them up as individuals. i know there's extenuating circumstances and a war and everything, but i just couldn't.

in any case it won't stop me from reading further, i'm already 1 chapter into architect and looking fwd to them spending time apart honestly. it looks like there's going to be a lot of dissension and conflict in the recovery period to come so i'm right there with you 100%.

i also don't understand or agree with everyone who said anything along the lines of this was too dark; imo the char deaths, violence and injuries etc. were all believable, canon-appropriate and well-balanced with lighter periods. you could've even gone darker if you had so chosen and i'm pretty sure most of us would've still been following.

also when reviewing chapter 35 i noticed the new bridge section at the beginning you introduced some time between when i started reading (from a downloaded copy of this fic) and finished reading; i liked it. it flowed much better.

Ok, you did it.

I almost never cry when reading, and hadn't so far in this but that scene with Park and Liara got me. I would have never thought of putting those two together either under those circumstances. I almost regret having the meta knowledge that this series continues because it would have been nice to sit with the angst a minute longer.

Oh, one thing I almost forgot, you never specified that Jack got out and we all know she would've been there trying to protect all of her students and providing rear guard. Wonder if she's going to show up as a phantom. Would be horrifying but effective and maybe put some doubt in Shepard's mind again about Liara by extension even though the process she underwent was not the same.

At first I thought Brooke could have been maya before the description of how old she was.

Wow Liara could not have asked for anything that Shepard would have been less likely to agree to! Ugh amazing. Looking forward to how it all pans out. Hope Shepard gets some version of that last talk with Anderson if she can but everything is so different, perhaps it'll be liara standing there with her instead. Yay for no Timmy talk at the end at least, everyone else is dead lol.

Have to say I'm disappointed by Ash as well and she has every reason to feel terrible, letting miranda run around like that. Wtf. No one's tits are /that/ good.

I'm pleased to be right about Shepard being a catalyst. It makes sense that the reapers might have dissenting factions - - even the geth had their own civil conflict. Hard, well impossible for Shepard to tell if it's lying to her though. I always liked aspects of indoctrination theory however so hopefully this will end up making more sense than what was canon.

What a great dark night of the soul, since we're already past Thessia. And Sam was the perfect foil to talk her out of it. Have to say though I'm so glad they're not a ship here even though the one sided attraction is still there.

Given how easily Timmy chose to dispose of lawson I can only assume he left t'soni alive to use later as leverage against Shep. Liara's reactions to Javik and the asari felt more reasonable than in game.

I'm glad Anderson and Park somehow made it out though despite all the other casualties.

Aww they are adorable together :)

I wonder with Shepard's new powers, the problems with her tech and the name of this fic whether she'll turn out to be the catalyst herself or that somehow the Reaper tech in her will change her options at the end. I'm looking forward to your take on it regardless.

The sorrow is so delicious I just want to write every review in all caps. I can't believe you maybe killed Anderson? Will have to hope it's not so.

oh my shep and her father in law were just the best together :) i hated that in game you couldn't just roll with aethyta being the father (xenophobic bullshit) so great to see that little dialogue tweak here, made all the difference. and trying to call her ma'am! i died inside. so adorbs. just want to pinch her cheeks.

aww poor James. i kind of love Shep feeling like she has a bit of competition though lolz. omg why maroon and gold? it's like the opposite colour palette to asari, i wonder if she'd subconsciously thought about that. so hilarious. i dig these little details.

i love these chapter titles, but i'm behind on my lore. are batarians meant to be dumber than average?

i'm kind of glad you didn't leave us hanging too long to have this convo. so satisfying and it only took mutual near death experiences to get them there :) rescuing Liara from that brute was so epic, btw.

i esp sympathised with Shep's bewilderment over Liara's reaction to Traynor, lol. Ugh, they're (Shiara) so cute togethers zomg.

Ok so I haven't even finished this chapter yet but just needed to pause and say I effing loved the opening flashback with miranda omg everything about it I love Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee *breathes*

Omg loving this so far the atmosphere between them is so tense I'm just itching for it to be resolved. I love Evan already. Is she getting panic attacks? Looking forward to liara comforting her!