We Are

We are the harbinger of your perfection.

"The cycle repeated
As explosions broke in the sky
All that I needed
Was the one thing I couldn't find
And you were there at the turn
Waiting to let me know

We're building it up
To break it back down
We're building it up
To burn it down
We can't wait
To burn it to the ground

The colors conflicted
As the flames climbed into the clouds
I wanted to fix this
But couldn't stop from tearing it down
And you were there at the turn
Caught in the burning glow...

You told me yes
You held me high
And I believed when you told that lie
I played soldier, you played king
And struck me down when I kissed that ring...
I built you up, but you let me down
So when you fall, I'll take my turn..." -- Burn it Down by Linkin Park

Something that's always creeped me out was that the Reapers' goal changed from wanting Shepard dead to wanting Shepard alive. Shepard was sedated for two days in the hands of indoctrinated scientists -- who knows what they did to her/him. Combined with reports of freaky noises on the Normandy, Shepard's decaying mental condition, hidden infrasound in certain ME3 audio files, and the scarily plausible Indoctrination Theory, Mass Effect from Arrival onwards becomes a frightening franchise. This was me trying to express that creepiness.

There's something mildly disturbing in doing this to my canon Shepard -- the one I've poured the most of my heart and soul into -- but it definitely adds to the creepiness. If it were your Shepard instead if mine this artwork might hit you a bit harder.

Take this as literally or symbolically as you please. A note on Shepard's eyes, though: you can't see it well, but the design of TIM's eyes was used. Why? As someone succinctly put it: not everyone who is indoctrinated has cybernetic blue eyes but every person who has those eyes is indoctrinated.

Thanks goes to the IT thread on the BSN that I've been lurking on for about three months now. Linkin Park's Burn it Down fits so well into ME3 (particularly Control and Synthesis endings if IT is true) that I was shocked the first time I heard it. The guitars even sound like Reaper horns! It was the primary inspiration song, while the other was Feel Something by Illy. If you want a kick to the gut, listen to Reignite ([link]) while viewing this -- the bitter irony is palpable.