#but then this is the developer that gave us Kai Leng

[camillabanilla]

[evfryder]

6, 14, 20, 21, 25?

hi :-)

6. Which squadmates introduced in ME2 would you have most liked to see return as squadmates in ME3?

cheat answer is.. all of them but. i would have liked to see jacob & miranda back most? obv bc i love them, but they're both great characters who got pushed out of the story for no reason (well, jacob had a reason. antiblackness lol), especially considering the fact that cerberus plays a really big role in me3

14. Are there two squadmates you wish had been allowed to interact with each other more? How do you picture their interactions?

tbh, i feel like the squadmates as a whole don't really interact with each other nearly as much as they should (imo, at least lol i played dragon age before mass effect and i miss the companion dialogue every day), so like, i wish they could have all interacted with each other more..

20. Is there a character you feel you're more invested in the idea of, rather than the way the character is actually written in the games?

KAI LENG LMAO.. and tevos & morinth!! and technically, liara

21. In ME2, are there any loyalty missions where you have a specific squadmate you like to bring along, for character reasons? Which mission(s), and which squadmate(s)?

not really sobs, i usually bring samara with me on thane's loyalty mission but that's just like, out of tradition because i did it the first time and now i must continue

25. What's your weirdest hill to die on? Your one gripe with Mass Effect that you recognize is unpopular or bizarre, but that you'll never stop being mad about?

i don't really think any of my hills are unpopular or bizarre? at the moment, the only thing that i can really think of is that i think morinth deserved better writing and a better place in me3

like, if you're going to give us the opportunity to recruit a character, especially in exchange for another characters, you should develop that character!! and not completely erase them from the story!! she isn't a good person and she shouldn't have been painted like she was, but there was more to her than just being An Evil Bitch and they're the ones who gave us the option anyways..

[3rdstreetboss]

On The Shores of Kalahira.

“I cannot forget you. That is what humans say. With us, it is a state called ‘tu-fira’: lost in another.”

“I love you. If all else whispers back into the tide, know this for fact. By grace given me by the Goddess Arashu, I bid her divine protection to you, my warrior-angel, my Siha, to succeed in your destiny. To light your path through the coming darkness. To give you hope, when all seems lost. I will await you across the sea.”

- Shepard didn’t fear death after Thane left her. Death was her only chance at seeing him again.

Rating: General Audiences Tags: Spoilers for Mass Effect 3 Pairing: Thane Krios/Female Shepard Word Count: 1403

Read it on AO3: http://archiveofourown.org/works/9283676

[ Just a quick one shot! Thanks to anyone who decides to read! ]

Below the cut!

Shepard huffed, Garrus slung over her shoulders. He limped beside her as she ran as fast as she could with supporting a turian.

"Don't you dare leave me, Garrus. You're gonna survive this. You're gonna go home to Palaven and see Solana and her new baby. You're gonna marry Tali and... just live. Please, Garrus." She feels him chuckle in response, nodding his head. She drags him just a little further. She just needed to get him to the ship. She needed to get him safe. 

" 'Course, Shepard. Wouldn't dream of disappointing you." Garrus flinches and stumbled just a little. His armor is stained with blue Turian blood, and theres so much, and its so fresh and Shepard cannot delay any longer. She uses all her strength she can muster and breaks into a dead sprint, practically carrying Garrus.

The stomp of her boot on the ramp to the Normandy is drowned out by all the other loud, deafening noises. "Take him!" she yells, pushing Garrus into the arms of a waiting crew member. 

"Shepard!"

"Go!" Shepard violently points to the ship behind him and she looks at him, one last time. She mapping the planes of his face. This was her friend, her teammate, her brother. She'd loved him for so long, given him everything she could. She'd given him the love her family deserved, given him her time, and her words. In return, he'd given her the same love he gave Solana, his trust, his undying loyalty. He was the family she never had, and she loved him for it.

"Shepard, I love you..." He'd yelled out for her in such a desperate way, and she realized the heat  down her cheeks were tears. She was crying, because she was afraid she'd never see him again. "Come back to us, Shepard. Please!" She gave him a solid nod and turned her back to him. 

This was it. Her entire family was on her ship, and she was alone, like she had been at the beginning. But she loved them, and they all knew it. Her last wish, however, had been to see Thane one last time.

Shepard was drowning. She could feel the water fill her lungs as she inhaled. It burned her insides and then she was on fire, roasting from the inside out. She was burning and drowning at the same time and she couldn't stop it. This was her death. She was dying, she had to be.

Getting spaced was more painful than this, oddly enough, and it was so definite. She couldn't think about anything except the fact that she was freezing and suffocation. She didn't have time to think before he death the last time, like she did now. 

Right now, she wished she had an eidetic memory, so that she could remember and relive every moment she could with her crew, her team, Thane. She wished she;d had more time with him, and that he had gotten more time with his son. She wished she had gotten more time to get to know Kolyat, even after his father's death. He was a good kid and deserved more. Thane didn't deserve to die and Kolyat deserved a normal life. 

Her entire crew deserved normal lives. She'd dragged them all to this fiery black hole with her for so many years. Garrus was C-Sec, he could have done so more. Hell, he could have been the Primarch on Palaven. Mordin would still be alive if it hadn't been for her. She'd told him to release the cure but if she hadn't destroyed the Krogan breeding facility on Virmire, he'd still be alive. Tali, she felt most guilty about. She could have finished her pilgrimage and lived happy. Maybe she could have saved her father, and stayed on the flotilla with her family.

But Shepard ruined everything. She always had.

Her lungs contracted and she wanted to scream. She couldn't feel her legs anymore, and her chest grew numb. She couldn't  move, she couldn't open her eyes, and she couldn't think about anything except that she was dying, suffering. And soon, she felt nothing. She couldn't feel her lungs struggle for breath, or the fire in her head. Shepard was gone.

It seemed like a long time she'd laid there, unfeeling, unbreathing, unmoving.

Like a wave, a rush of unknown, she could feel. 

She inhaled a deep, gasping breath, and it didn't hurt. She couldn't open her eyes, but at least she could breath. She could feel her toes when she wiggled then, feel her fingers when she made a fist. 

She was in water, floating just above the sand that rubbed against her back. The water was warm, peaceful, and quiet. She'd had been there forever if it wasn't for the bright sun causing bright colors to dance behind her eyelids. She sat up slowly, opening her eyes gently to adjust to the brightness around her. She was in the ocean, she knew that much. She dug her toes in the wet sand beneath the water, relishing the soft feeling. The air was fresh, and Shepard took a relaxing deep breath... something she hadn't done in a long time.

Sitting in the sand, peacefully, surrounded by quiet, gave Shepard a different perspective. Her life had been so stressful, chaotic, violent, disastrous. For a long time, she'd never known peace and quiet. Not since Mindoir, and from there Akuze, Elysium, Torfan. She'd never been relaxed in her entire life. She'd lost so much in such a short amount of time, and she'd still kept it all from falling apart. 

And now she was on an empty beach, in shorts and a tank top. She rose to her feet slowly, water drops sliding down her skin. Her hair was still in its bun, which dripped down her neck. As she scanned the horizon, looking out across the forest of sand and palm trees, she spots a figure. It's so familiar that a pang runs through her heart.

The shores of Kalahira...

Thane.

Shepard breaks into a dead run, water splashing up around her. The figure develops shape, and she knows its him, she can tell. This was her final place... here, with her lover. 

She stops short, right in front of Thane. Her eyes swell with tears as she takes in everything. His eyes, the texture of his beautiful skin.  He's finally real again, not just a ghost.

"Siha." Thane whispers. She falters at the sound of his voice, and she starts to cry, burying her face in the crook of his neck. She hadn't heard his voice in a long time. His real voice, at least. She had the recording Kolyat had given her, but it was never the same. "You got my letter." She laugh, his thumb coming up to wipe the tears from her cheeks.

"Of course I did. I..." She looks down at her toes digging into the sand, taking a deep breath. "I put it on paper, kept it in my armor. It made me feel close to you, like you were right beside me once again." She sighed, resting against his chest, arms wrapped around each other.

"I am always right here, siha. Forever." He rests his head against her, breathing in deeply. Shepard instinctively waits for his cough, waits to him close as he struggles to breathe. He doesn't. He breathes freely, calmly. She closes her eyes, listening to his chest. She had everything she needed from now on, right in her arms. They stand in silence for a few moments before Thane speaks again. "And Kai Leng?" He asks it gently and quietly. Maybe he thinks it'll anger her.

"Dead. He tried to kill me. I broke his blade, and then I killed him. I shouldn't have, I know that now, but I couldn't stop myself." She crying again, he body shaking. Thane holds her tightly, shushing her gently. "I had more time with you, and he took from us, from Kolyat."

"Siha..." Thane slips a hand along her jaw, tilting her head to look at him. "You are here with me now, and we have time. We have all of time. We have forever." He presses his lips firmly to her. This was tu-fira, Shepard finally understood what it was like to completely and utterly love someone, to be lost in another.

They had forever, thank the goddess Kalahira.