I'm one of the few unfortunate individuals who had the pleasure to play this series long after its original release. I finished the series the first time last year, and the second time about three months ago. I am of the opinion that by the end of the trilogy, Shepard was simple a tired man who was tired of all this conflict. That he simply wanted to rest. To that end, I always chose the Control ending, despite how it might not be Shepard himself. I would've chosen the Destroy ending had it not destroyed all the Geth and EDI with it, along with ending the commander as well.

I wanted an end, once and for all. (Sorry for the pun, but it felt fitting.)

But then I find myself with the sudden urge to know what happens after the Commander's demise, leading to me looking up anything about Shepard's funeral. That's when I find this, and as I finish reading Garrus' "epilogue" of sorts, I start crying.

I remembered all of the things I'd done in Mass Effect. All the lives I'd taken. The lives I'd saved. The ones I failed. Strangely enough, one of my most regretted losses was that of Kelly Chambers. Because I'd been spoiled of the possible deaths of my crew, I did everything I could to make sure that none of them died, or at the very least went in peace. So imagine my shock when I find out that she dies, not in a blaze of glory or in a manner befitting her, but by a bullet to the head.

Bang.

I was even more shocked to realize that her demise was largely my own fault. I hadn't told her to protect her identity, and now I knew it. And as much as I wanted to reload a save and undo what I did, I went against it. It would cheapen the experience for me, knowing that someone's life was one quicksave away. So I continued onward, in memory of those I've lost and failed. I like to think that Shepard became much more clingy to his squadmates and the crew in general after that.

You reminded me of the joy, the frustration, and everything in between with your writing. Thank you.

Godspeed, Author.

I might rant a little bit too so, heads up. Your writing is, for lack of a word to properly explain my emotions when reading this, full. Everything about this story is the bittersweet, perfect, heart destroying, throbbing, brain exploding, sob inducing, heart ache causing, knee wobbling, amazing ending, that nobody knew they wanted, until they read this, masterpiece. Not only did I save it, but it made me play the games over, and over, and over again. I even wrote some of my own peices. I realize that this might be a few years late, but I also noticed that I had never actually left a review. So I am now. Of course I wanted Shepard to live and for him and liars to live happily ever after. But the fact of the matter is, there is just no way, that there could be a better ending, to my favorite story, than what you have given me. I want you to know that. I loved everything about it. The last part, with all of his dead friends, really, REALLY REALLY it hard. And liara, well, liara. There is nothing in the world that I want more than for liara to get her guy, and to live happily, and maybe figure something out so that he can age with her (as the lore goes asari are just uplifted, and crazy modified humans), so you know, maybe she could have figured something out. There's nothing more in the world that I want more than to see a story where, she has those little blue children with Shepard, and lives happily. But there's also nothing more in the world, that I love more, than this ending, and I think, FUCK YOU, for shoving my heart into a garbage disposal, but also, thank you, for shoving my heart into a garbage disposal. It's obvious you have a talent for writing. I realize that you might have outgrown it now but, I would still love to see a Mshep/liara story during me2. You know when she treated him do coldly. But none of the ones that I've seen has done it true justice. All of them either immediately forgot the coldness, or get too dark and hurtful. I would love to see from anyone, a story that goes for more than two chapters, and really really delves into the emotions of both shepard and liara. And maybe alter the story a bit, like, she's still cold and distant at the end, but in the months before Shepard turns himself in, the breaks, and tell him how she feels, and everything about how she was ashamed or sobbing or, sad or empty during their time apart. Shepard reject her for her own safety, and then either right before turning himself in, or way before, he should come to her, feeling the same way as she does. I don't have the ability to write a story about this and do it justice. So if anyone can, you would make at least one person grateful.

loved the story :)

There were a few things I was uncertain about, as to how I quite feel about this fic. because the writing is a bit uneven at certain points, ranging from "meh" to "MIND BLASTING GOOD." But to say what I do know is that I am kind of outraged that this doesn't have more reviews because it deserves them, and that you have a fantastic grasp of prose and imagery that demands you be read.

Which is, again, why I'm kind of outraged that more people haven't.

I read this a few months ago, right about when this was released, and I kind of let it stew in my brain, forgot about it, and when I came back to read it again today I'm now fully convinced that this is outstanding writing. You give yourself too little credit- you are not just "an above-average essayist," you're a WRITER, and a freaking good one at that. It should be obvious to you by your title alone- it stirs certain emotions in me at least, something nebulous but real, and being able to catch a reader's eye with that alone is generally a tip-off that the writing within is going to be worthwhile.

And it is, really. You do a great job of nailing all the characters' voices and though this is your re-interpretation of the ending, you show dedication to the source material and everyone behaves and moves as they would and should. The entire section of Garrus removing the shrapnel from Ashley is well-written but unlike everything else in the fiction, I do think that particular bit could have stood some spacing between the sentences if only so you can place better emphases on certain points that you're trying to make in that section because (at least to me) that did not seem like any sort of artistic decision to have it all together. Shepard hitting the big magic button and ending all of Reaper-kind, or more precisely, the immediate aftermath of it felt a bit rushed and too barebones. I mean that in the context of this particular fic. because most of the other sections of the fiction are expounded upon, and an event such as that one and as important to the ending as a whole I guess comes off uneven in comparison to everything else you wrote: there's a kind of "oh would you like at that?" feeling as opposed to disbelief and shock and good-freaking-job-Shepard that you were aiming for, I think. And I know you could do it more justice because you have shown that you are downright incredible at portraying character thoughts and setting up the scenario, so that's why that transition between everyone on the ground digesting what had just happened and then getting to the shuttle feels abrupt.

Characters nervously snapping at one another, your Garrus perspective, and the entire buildup to finding Shepard at the end is done really well. You did a great job of building tension and your actual description of how messed up Shepard is at that point is done amazingly- excellent and appropriate prose throughout that entire bit. Everything in the dialogue was spot-on, though the second "You promised" honestly felt kind of campy and moviesque, which is okay if that's what you were intending but it really pales into comparison to how you end this fic.

I have nothing to really say about your descriptions of the immediate aftermath and what happens to everyone, except that a) really liked that touch of Liara not knowing the traditions of the memorial service and that it was really appropriate that Garrus be the one that does b) your Hackett memorial speech is so strongly HOLY CRAP THAT'S HACKETT that I have to give you major props c) Zaeed establishing a survival course is freaking perfect.

The final section is by far your most powerful, most artistic, and easily some of the finest writing I've read in the fandom. This is in large part because I feel it really shows off your talent with projecting what you have in your head to the reader. Your entire description of the scenery, and the progression of everything in that last section (absolutely LOVED the "Thane had a poet's soul- not like John" line, really a nice appropriate contrast there) just feels RIGHT. This section was so well-done that when I came back to read this fic months later., I still remembered in vivid detail each of the scenes you had laid forth as I read through it all again. So I have to say again that the capacity to really put what you want into the reader's mind and convey something is always a sign of good writing, and you absolutely have it. There's nothing for me to really describe further here other than that honestly I do get kind of jelly at so much of your very beautiful prose (i.e. "passing his hands through the rolling waves beside him," "uncaring and unconcerned with the traveler it had carried," "The wood was weather-worn, darkened by the sun and the salt air, and the slats creaked and bent beneath his weight." Those are just some examples and there's too many to list, my point only being that DAYUM YOU GOOD.)

I do think that you needed to write something, even as a shoutout as it were, to Liara in that section somewhere because it doesn't feel completely- guess the word is full, but it is indeed lacking that bit of oomph to tie the entire thing together. To put it in another way, if Liara is indeed important to the Shepard you wrote, it kind of harkens back to the outrage of the actual ME3 endings of certain LIs not being made available as a flashback scene when they are conveyed in the story to be important to the character. If done well I don't see how it could detract from the overall impact and focus of your final section.

But the final reunion of Shepard and all his other comrades at the end was stunning, and you did a superb job at conveying the emotion behind such a reunion, and holy crap was that a satisfying ending. I do look forward to your future writings and I hope this fic. gets more attention for the small treasure that it is.

It's been hard seperating the chaff from the wheat when it comes to ME 3 ending fics. This one was worth all the searching. Now saved on my harddrive to be read again and again. Thanks for sharing your talent.

Powerful and well done.

Would be great to see a full story on your shepard and Liara.

Mshep/Liara gets no love unfortunately.

Wow, that was beautiful. If only BioWare knew the definition of bittersweet as well as you do.

Excellent work my friend. :)

There is something in my eyes... Hic.. This story is so sad but still better than ME3's ending. I think you should give a hint about Liara joining with Shepard in heaven after 1000 years, it would make the story happier.