entrancelogs | [OPEN] hey, you, look around, can you hear that noise it's a rebel sound

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[OPEN] hey, you, look around, can you hear that noise it's a rebel sound

Who: Commander Shepard and YOU! (+semi-closed prompt for CR)
Where: All over the Citadel
When: During the Citadel Event! (April 1st-4th)
Rating: PG-13 for guns and swears, mostly
Summary: Shepard's home, and she knows it's temporary, but she's gonna live it up while she's got it.
The Story:

i. [closed to CR; personal apartment] alive, alive, alive is all I wanna feel

[She wakes up in her bed in the apartment Anderson gave her, and for a moment, she thinks it was all a dream.

She jerks up, looks around, and everything's where it should be. But she can remember. Shepard pulls up her omni-tool in a flash, pushes around the extranet, and... there's Wonderland's network.

It's an event. Her event.

She takes about an hour doing all the recon she can. What year it is, who knows what, where she should be in universe, and she balks when she finally finds it. 2186. The Reapers haven't landed. This apartment shouldn't even be hers, but the recordings from Anderson are around as if the war had already started (and she can't contact him, of course, can't contact anyone except the people in Wonderland, so she knows she's stuck here). So she pulls herself up. Checks around the entire place. And ends up with a cup of coffee, on her couch, watching the cars fly by.

Eventually, she walks into the study, and pulls up the call list, pinging as many friends as she can with the address and a simple message.]

Hey, it's Shepard.
If you've got some time, come up and see my place around here.
Let me know if you're coming.

[And she sits back down on the couch, messes around with her omni-tool while she waits for responses, and tries to hold the feeling of home as much as she can, with the time she has.]

ii. [open; docking bays] oh life can hurt when it gets too real, I can hold you up when it's hard to feel

[The next place she has to check is her ship.

Of course, she can't get through the airlocked door to go get it, and it makes no sense timeline-wise that it should even be docked here, but leave it to her to imagine a version of the Citadel without the war. She remembers standing here, thinking about going back to the war. She was standing in this very spot a year and a few hours ago, when Wonderland took her for the first time.

And now she's back. Almost like she never left.

She remembers that Cortez used to talk about how he loved stargazing here, and she tilts her head a bit to look out at the cosmos. She never thought she'd see this again. And yes, she knows it's fake, but... it's beautiful. The stars always are.

Regardless, if you're looking to stargaze, you've probably found her. And for once, she'll just be happy to talk.]

iii. [open; armax arsenal arena] you better find your voice, better make it loud, we've gotta burn that fire or we'll just burn out

[She sets her high score incredibly early, but that doesn't change the fact that Shepard intends to spend a lot of time in here. So she's suited up, toggling in settings downstairs before heading into the arena. Maybe you're here to play too and wanna tag team. Maybe you've been drawn in by the announcer proudly yelling Commander Shepard, the Hero of the Citadel, the first human Spectre, about to take on the Armax Arsenal Arena! from the speakers outside and you wanna watch some simulated carnage. Or maybe you've just been looking to beat her bet. Regardless, come one, come all, come tear apart some pixelated baddies.]

iv. [open; out and about] and it gets lonely when you live out loud, when the truth that you seek isn't in this crowd

[Shepard intends on going as many places as possible while she's back, so she tries to go everywhere she can think of. Spends a bit of time in middle looking at the huge lake, going shopping at the kiosks, and even (for some reason) sitting in the lobby of the Huerta Memorial Hospital. If you want to find her just around the Citadel, hit her up! She'll be happy to show anyone the sights or recommend a cool place to go.]

v. [open; wildcard] we'll take what's ours for once, and baby, run like hell

[Want a different prompt or starter? Hit me up through DMs or on plurk at

cancerously and I'll set up a new thread for you!]

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[This game was very intriguing! Turing watched a few of Shepard's plays, as she dodged and fired at the pixelated enemies. Perhaps this was because it was all a simulation, but it looked rather fun! They caught up to her rather quickly after another match.]

Magnificent! Your moves at the arena were so graceful, yet powerful! I think I'd like to give this game a try.

[Shepard pulls her helmet off as she exists, shaking her head a little bit to clear out her hair and some sweat off her brow. She spots Turing with just enough time to nod to them with a gentle smile in acknowledgement.]

Thanks. Glad I was fun to watch.

[She crouches down a bit so they don't have to look up at her so much.]

Have you ever shot anything before?

[Turing shakes their head.]

I personally haven't, but my friend from back home has. When we were undergoing our investigation, there were a few times where they had to use their laser gun to stun a few people that were...impeding on our progress. Had there been another option, I wouldn't have suggested to stun anyone, but we had no other choice.

Oh, I'm sorry, I'm rambling again! No. No, I haven't shot anything before.

No, no, it's fine.

[She kinda wishes she had options for stun guns sometimes, too. Usually it's pretty life or death in her case.]

The good thing with these enemies is they're all virtual. So you don't have to worry about hurting anyone real. You wanna learn?

[They're small, so pistols or SMGs would be a good start, but they might have the capacity- or desire- for something bigger.]

Ahh, so they’re not real. That’s a relief. Yes, I would love to learn from you. If anything, it might provide some help in practical self defense as well.

[Of course, Turing hoped that they wouldn’t have to actually shoot someone with a gun anytime soon, but it’s better to learn it to protect themselves and others rather than the latter.]

Yeah, it's all virtual. Makes sure the people participating aren't hurt either.

[She gestures for them to follow her down the hall and back around to the player's waiting room. Once they go through the door, an elevator is immediately visible on the right, and to the left, the room opens up into a massive equipment hold. Different models and setups of weapons and armor, able to be controlled by a touchpad to bring down the requested piece. Naturally, they've all been modified to shoot only tracking lasers, and are tagged as such.]

You have a preference to a type of weapon? I figure you don't want anything bulky, but are you wanting to prioritize high damage, or speed?

[Turing surveys the various weapons, looking just a bit intimidated by the wide variety of choices they had. Thankfully the Commander was here to help them steer into a good direction.]

I feel that speed might be better suited for me - given my short stature, I'd like to hit fast while dodging easily.

Sounds good.

[She thinks about it, narrows down a list of ideas in her mind.]

Would you prefer more shots per second with less damage, or less shots with higher damage? If you do more, you don't have to keep your accuracy as much, but it'll take more shots to down an enemy. Plus the recoil could get you if it's really rapid-fire.

[She's narrowing down between submachines and pistols, really, though there's a variety of options in both categories.]

[Turing mulls on this decision, putting a robotic hand to their robotic chin. Both choices come with their own sets of pros and cons, but which one would be suited best for them?]

I suppose…I would take less shots, but with higher damage. I’d like to think that I have an advantage with accuracy, being a ROM and all. Therefore, a weapon like that would compliment my personal traits well.

Alright, I can work with that.

[She'll give them a few options per category, so she types a few numbers in, drags a few options in, and calls down three guns, taking the first of the wall to begin, a streamlined white pistol with ridges on the top and a blue-green glow peeking through.]

So you've got a couple options. My personal favorite is this one, called the Arc Pistol. It's a charge-based weapon that uses an invisible laser to essentially shoot electricity. You can also hold this button on the side to charge it up for higher burst attacks. So it's got the flexibility of a rapid-fire, or you can hold and charge for some hard-hitting blows.

[She places it back down and reaches for the next one, a more standard looking handgun with a large handle on top.]

If that sounds too complicated, the Carnifex is your best balance of high damage and low rate of fire without being too heavy. It's great at range and close-combat, and with a scope, this thing is great at picking off targets from across the field.

[She places that one back down, and finally reaches for a large-barreled red gun, with a stylized white skull on the side.]

This one, meanwhile, is if you really wanna lean into the high damage and less shot holder. This is the Executioner, and it'll fell a lot of weaker enemies at one shot. However, it's clip is only one shot per hit, so if you don't get 'em in one, you're going to have to reload before you can fire again, which can be risky.

[She puts it back down in it's holder and gestures for them to take a look.]

Pick whatever you want. You can take in up to four weapons of any class, so if you feel you can hold more than one, you're cool for that, too.

[Turing looks at each of the weapons in awe. They have no idea that there were different sets of weapons for different play styles, especially in a little game arena like this! This was truly amazing.

They think back to the laser pistol Alys was given back at home. It was lightweight, but could still pack a punch. What was even better was that the settings on the pistol were set so that it could be adjusted manually, so it could be set to just stun as well as shoot. Maybe getting a pistol light that would benefit them as well...]

I think I'll stick with just one weapon for now, I don't want to get too cocky. Hm...

[In the end, Turing picks up the Arc Pistol. It seemed to remind them of the laser pistol the most, and, in a way, reminded them of their time at home too.]

I feel this pistol should be suitable for me.

[She can't help but smile when they take the Arc Pistol. Great minds think alike.]

That's my personal handgun, too. Of course, that one doesn't shoot real charges, but you're not gonna need it to in here.

[She presses more buttons on the touchscreen and the other guns cycle back up into the wall, replaced with the screensaver type that displays the options.]

Do you want any armor or anything? There's upgrades and stuff you could get into too but they're not really necessary to enjoy it.

Heh, well, knowing how to use it will still be useful, I'm sure.

[Turing pauses and looks up at the armor for a brief moment before turning to Shepard again.]

I don't think I need any armor - not to brag, but my casing is very durable and can handle intense conditions.

[They pound their chest for emphasis. Clang clang! Very solid.]

Trust me, it will.

[She smiles at their demonstration. She's worked with robots before, but none so charismatic.]

Then this is the last thing you need. Here.

[The last piece she gives them is a little clip, a small rectangular piece.]

That should go right under your neck. It's a kinetic barrier. It'll absorb a few shots per clip before you start taking direct damage. They're regulation issue here, and since your opponents will have them, you should too. They're mostly designed to protect you from headshots.

[Turing attaches the kinetic barrier right under their neck, already feeling a little bit safer about heading into the arena.]

That's good - I'd rather keep my head in one piece, thank you very much!

[They start to shake a little bit, but they fool themselves into thinking it's just from anticipation rather than nervousness.]

So...what else can be customized here? Is the stage randomized, or can we also choose how many opponents I will have to face?

Totally. Come with me.

[She leads them back out of the waiting room to a slightly more open area at the base of the staircase back to the main entrance, where spectators and vendors set up to watch those in the arena. At it's base sits a terminal that displays a large, fabricated screen in front of them. At Shepard's touch, it springs from it's screensaver- a mirror of the scoreboard outside- to a selection screen with five columns that she can tab through with her fingers, labelled, from left to right, 'squadmates', 'map', 'enemy type', 'challenge level', and 'modifiers'. She keys through the 'squadmates' tab and scans her omni-tool, inputting Turing's name manually until a small picture of them pops up. She presses 'accept', and the screen returns to it's previous iteration, the 'squadmates' tab now slightly greyed out and sunk back with both of their images. Next, she presses 'map', and the screen opens up again to show seven available maps (minus Fatal Error). She gestures for them to take a look.]

You have a preference? Wingman is always a good starter map since it's got some levels to it, but you might be more familiar with other settings.

Edited (wrong icon) 2017-06-04 22:31 (UTC)

[Turing watches carefully as Shepard enters in their initial information. It was fascinating how high technical everything was! Just a scan from their omni-tool and they already have their information locked and loaded! It reminded them of the I.D. card Alys always carried around with them.

They take a long look at each of the maps. Certainly they all looked very interesting, but one of them stuck out to them the most, despite it's funny name.]

Spin Zone looks rather interesting. I'm going to take an educated guess and say that there are spinning panels inserted into the level? That would provide an additional challenge that I'm willing to take!

Yeah. Each one spins an opposite direction from the middle. It's pretty fun as long as you keep your footing.

[She selects it and the image spins horizontally, changing the screen back to the main columns, the map tab now greyed out and sunk back from the other options. Next, she presses 'enemy type', revealing a list titled "Cerberus", "Geth", "Reapers", and "Collectors".]

Next up is what we're facing. Cerberus is all human, Geth is all robotic, Reapers are a mix of a bunch of corrupted races and Collectors are all alien. They're all about the same difficulty, but I'd say Collectors are a little bit more complicated. There's also whether you want it to just be the basic troops, advanced squads, or the super elites. Think of it like an easy, medium, and hard choice in a game.

[Turing starts bobbing up and down at the thought of running around in the stage, spinning this way and that. Granted it was probably going to be a lot more frustrating than it sounds, but that was a part of the challenge!

They survey the enemy choices. Geth was completely out of the question, there was no way they were planning on fighting other robots, even if it was all holographic. Collectors sounded like fun, though. It would keep to the whole space event in their eyes.]

I think I'll go with Collecters with the advanced squads. While I would normally go for the hardest level, I feel the arena itself will provide challenge enough.

[She grins, their excitement infectious as she selects the options.]

Upping the challenge level, alright. Let's get it going.

[Shepard inputs the selections, and then navigates to the final screen, Score Modifiers.]

This is used to tweak the game, make it easier or harder for extra points in more specialized ways. Things like taking more or less damage, or making it harder to find healing items and bullets. You want any?

[Turing shrugs off the modifiers with a wave of their robotic hand.]

I don't think I'll use any modifiers for this round. I feel that I won't need any handicaps for myself, whether they're helpful or hindering me.

Fair enough.

[She dismisses the selection and it goes back to the main screen, hitting the green 'submit' button in the bottom right as the screen changes to arrows back into the loadout room.]

Elevator to the ring's in there. I think we're next up after whoever's in there now. You have anything else you wanna do before we get in it?

[Turing looks at the elevator, their expression confident and determined.]

I think I'm all set. I'm ready whenever you are.

Lets go, then.

[She gestures them over into the elevator, stepping inside and waiting for them to follow before she keys in the commands to send 'em up.]

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[OPEN] hey, you, look around, can you hear that noise it's a rebel sound

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