[CUISINE] The Stench of Fear - Tourists Still Avoiding Sushi Bars
via Sights Unseen
[CUISINE] The Stench of Fear - Ryuusei's Incident Still Haunts Sushi Bars, Deters Tourists
The infamous Ryuusei's Sushi Bar shootout may be over ten galactic standard years old by now, but Citadel's sushi restaurants still feel its paralyzing sting on their business in the present.
Results from a survey conducted last year by Citadel Restaurant Association and Partnership cast light on the grim reality. Staff and management reported the most drastic decline in their restaurants' popularity and some even had shuttered over past years.
"Assassins make an attempt at a Spectre's life in a restaurant and the Extranet zooms in on the sushi bar as the butt of their joke! People didn't jeer at the victims like this when Cerberus razed a whole food court up at Presidium, did they? It's a sick, sick galaxy out there." wrote one anonymous restauranter in the survey.
Yet not everyone believes it's just the incident behind the decline. Jomun Gemlen, a veteran restaurant reviewer with reviews published from The Citadel Post to Omega Herald, believes it is really twilight for one genre of cuisine in the galactic scene. “Earth’s time on the plate is over. Every combination of rice and fish in a roll has been seen and eaten. The mouths of the galaxy desire novelty!”, Jomun commented to us, “What one should really keep an eye out for are what’s coming out of Camala and Erzsbat. Today it might be a bowl of raksha hash from a street stall, tomorrow it’ll be ribs and t-bone steak at Presidium!”
Whether the spicy and notoriously health warning-labeled cuisine out of Kite’s Nest will win over the galaxy’s tongues or not remains to be seen.
Honestly, the coup standoff makes zero sense to me. Kaidan has biotics. In my game, Shepard has biotics. Why is no one putting Udina in stasis? Why aren't they using biotics to disable each other?
If Kaidan is blocking Udina with his body, why doesn't Shepard's companions spread out? Someone can get a clean shot. Kaidan can't shoot all three of them at the same time. Plus, why aim for the chest to begin with? You only need Kaidan to falter just enough to shoot past him.
Even beyond the confrontation between the Virmire Survivor and Shepard, what are they even arguing about? Udina opening the door? Shepard destroys armies of enemies with only two companions. Here, she has three counting the VS. The Cerberus troopers are bottle necked at the door. A biotic on her team can shield the councilors from stray bullets. It should be easy.
Plus, you can't convince me the Cerberus soldiers are a real threat when they "beat feet into the keeper tunnel" at the sight of two unarmored C-Sec agents with pistols.
Shepard is the real barrier to the Cerberus soldiers, not the door. The VS could defend the door with Shepard against Cerberus. What's more useful in defending the councilors: the door's lock or the VS adding to the defensive fight power behind the door? There's no reason to flip out over Udina opening the door.
Ultimately, did the door's lock even matter? Bailey welds through it with his Omni-Tool in about five seconds.
What's Shepard's grand plan here anyway? So, the door stays locked. Now what? They're trapped out in the open with Kai Leng or anyone else able to drop on them. They can be attacked from all sides. Or Cerbetus could just blow them up with a missile from afar. Is not fighting your way through the door into shelter really the best idea?
And Udina? Is he really a threat? He has a sissy pistol and just wants to unlock the door. He's not a biotic. He doesn't have combat experience as far as I know. He's already served Cerberus's purpose in gaining access to the Citadel. He should be easily restrainable, and would it really matter if he escaped? All Shepard is getting is satisfaction in serving justice. Is that worth a friend's life?
For so, SO many reasons the coup doesn't make sense. It's transparently contrived. There isn't a real dilemma here. There isn't need for a confrontation, let alone killing someone who's on your side. This situation is so nonsensical, I couldn't even write the scene into my fanfiction. The coup confrontation is just ludicrous.
Kai Leng can get buggered, right? And his fight choreography with Thane makes no sense. That’s no way for a core cast member (who might be the hero’s boyfriend) to die.
But I’m not normally a fan of Thane Lives AUs. I’ve seen them done well, but his terminal illness is such a big part of his plot and character arc that a lot of Thane Lives AUs feel like SUDDENLY WE HAVE REMOVED ALL THE SAD THINGS FROM THIS STORY AND REPLACED IT WITH A BIG BOWL OF WHITE SUGAR! (Particularly the ones that cure him. Having him survive indefinitely while disabled and on oxygen, and live happily ever after with Shepard, or in one good fic I read, her mum? That seems easier to write well.)
So, AU concept:
Thane just straight-up dies of Kepral's Syndrome. Kolyat is there, and he hasn't exactly forgiven Thane for abandoning him, but he's legitimately sorry they didn't get more time together. Possibly the coup finished Thane off by making the hospital run out of supplemental oxygen, or something like that.
He’s done his best to atone for his misdeeds, with emphasis on the complete-parenting-fail misdeeds. He’s done his best to make the universe brighter. He dies peacefully (probably rather messily, but peacefully... I hope it was elevated carbon dioxide rather than reduced oxygen levels that killed him, because that’s much more comfortable.) He prays for Shepard, he prays for Kolyat, and he heads off to the sea.
(credit to @autodiscothings for some of the ideas)
An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works
Artwork by @theuselesspotoo
Chapters: 4/?
Fandom: Mass Effect Trilogy
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Relationships: Tarquin Victus/Original Character(s), C-Sec Turian Officer & Teenaged Refugee Girl
Characters: Original Turian Character(s), Nellus Tragen, Tarquin Victus, Chellick, Original Krogan Character(s), Original Asari Character(s), Female Shepard (Mass Effect), Garrus Vakarian, Adrien Victus
Additional Tags: Minor Female Shepard/Garrus Vakarian, Established Shepard/Garrus Vakarian, The Reaper War, Mass Effect 3, Turians, References to Depression, Social Anxiety, Guardian-Ward Relationship, Mild Language, Platonic Female/Male Relationships
Series: Part 4 of Turian Machinations of Spectres and Primarchs
Summary:
Summary: Wake up, go to work, sleep. It wasn't exactly the life C-Sec officer Nellus Tragen wanted but it's the one he's got. Docking bay D-24 might as well be his second home for as much time as he spends there. Of course, finding himself guardian and protector to a teenaged human girl utterly alone in the hell that is the Reaper War has a way of changing things up a bit.
Excerpt: “Stop!” Nellus Tragen shouted from the confines of his bed before rolling over, desperately clinging to the silence as long as he still could, knowing it was just a matter of time before-
His discarded alarm started to beep, the sound steadily progressing in volume until it was buzzing insistently against the wall it had hit.
Same shit, different day... with the ever-so-subtle addition of Reapers, that is.
It's been over a year since my last update to this fic! I am so sorry it's taken this long, but I hope it's worth the wait!! I am so glad to finally be finished!! It has been my absolute favorite thing to work on, and... it may just be the beginning of a series 👀🙈
Ch. 7 Summary: Kaidan prepares for Shepard's arrival at his apartment after their stand off during the coup attempt.
Ch. 8 Summary: Shepard and Kaidan have agreed that he’ll rejoin the Normandy crew after the events of Udina’s coup attempt on the Citadel. Though, when she turns up at his apartment, she’s unwilling to talk things out.
CW/TW: Sexual Content, 18+ only
Preview of each chapter below. AO3 link: here and here.
Ch. 7 Preview:
Two mugs rested side by side near the edge of the counter, as they’d sat for several hours now. One of them was blue and adorned with the Spectre logo, while the other was black, white, and red with a large “N7” printed on it. The Spectre one was newer, shiny and untarnished. In contrast, the N7 mug was slightly faded and chipped in a few places.
Kaidan smiled to himself as he remembered the countless times he’d seen Shepard drink from it. This small item had been one of the very few things that had somehow survived in her footlocker after the Collector attack. He’d cherished it for years. It had gone everywhere with him, and he hoped they’d be returning to the Normandy together, if she’d allow it.
He didn’t know exactly how long he’d been waiting, and there was no way to tell how much longer she’d be at Huerta. Each time he felt his impatience begin to press in, he reminded himself that she’d also sat and waited in that same waiting room after Mars. He tried to imagine what she must’ve felt then, so he could imagine what she was feeling now. He knew she’d need some grace as she waited to discover Thane’s fate after his encounter with that Cerberus assassin.
His eyes fell on the mugs once again. N7 and Spectre. Of course, she is both of these things. He’d only recently joined the ranks of one of them, and he knew he had big shoes to fill as only the second Human Spectre in the galaxy. He felt ready for it, if he was completely honest with himself. Especially after everything that had happened today. He'd helped stop Udina’s coup attempt, and that felt good. It was a victory.
~~~
Ch. 8 Preview:
Kaidan let out a heavy sigh as he pulled the zipper closed on his duffle bag, slightly amused by the fact that the few possessions he’d acquired in the weeks since the Reaper invasion could all fit perfectly into this small bag. He’d literally only had the clothes on his back when he’d unexpectedly boarded the Normandy SR-2 that day.
His eyes wandered around the room that had belonged to him since he’d been released from Huerta and felt oddly nostalgic. This place had not only served as his own private quarters during his time on the Citadel, but it was also where he and Shepard had finally reconciled. The place she’d come back to him. He would always cherish this little apartment, but he knew it was time to move on.
After three long years, he was returning to the Normandy. Though it wasn’t the one he’d spent those years yearning for. This was a completely new ship, with a new crew. There would be a few familiar faces aboard, but the majority of the soldiers he’d worked with as the staff lieutenant of the SR-1 were gone. Either lost in the same attack that had taken Shepard, reassigned, or trapped back on Earth. The knot in his stomach tightened at the thought.
He turned away from the dresser, now empty of its contents, and went into the bathroom. A smaller bag rested on the counter of the vanity. He’d already packed away his toiletries. His hand trailed across the cold marble of the countertop and he smiled softly to himself, recalling the events that had unfolded here only a few short hours ago.
Guns weren’t her thing. Luckily, when it came to Cerberus troopers, she got enough of a high blasting them with dark matter. She thought about this to herself as she slammed a Cerberus asshole against a wall. A second one was coming right at her, guns blazing. Brill biotic leaped away from the string of bullets, skidding to a stop near an edge, teetering slightly on the edge, her arms waving to steady herself. Although the view of the Presidium below was quite a sight. Now wasn’t a time for sight seeing.
Brill spun back around, grasping at the trooper with her an out stretched hand. Her biotics forcibly grasping the trooper’s armor and jerking him towards her. His arms flailing as she tried to stop himself. Brill jerked once more, the final pull flinging the trooper towards her and… over her shoulder to the Presidium below. Brill turned around, watching the trooper fall down below.
A wicked grin spread across her face as she watched him fall. “IT WAS FUN! CALL ME LATER ASSHOLE!” Brill shouted.
