Web Video / Shephards Mind

"I don't think I've ever said 'hoo-rah.' How is it even possible that I've been in the military this long and I've never said that yet?"

"I'll pimp-slap whatever's down there, stuff it down the nearest garbage chute, hit puree, and then sprint into the desert just in time to watch this entire stupid base explode into eighty billion pieces. After that, I'll flee to Mexico and learn to play the guitar from a mysterious gunman. Yeah, then I'll go back to the United States and save the President from ninjas while playing a bitchin' solo. And it'll be so bitchin' the President gives me a full pardon. And then I'll go to Vegas."

—Adrian Shephard

Shephard's Mind is a Machinima series created by Robin "Krimsin" Darnell. It is a Spin-Off of Ross Scott's Freeman's Mind and follows a similar format; it's a cross between a Let's Play and an Abridged Series of the Half-Life expansion pack Opposing Force.

The series follows the thoughts of Corporal Adrian Shephard, a Marine who's a member of the Hazardous Environment Combat Unit that's sent into Black Mesa for an unknown mission. After his chopper crashes, Shephard is stranded in Black Mesa and is forced to contend with the aliens, black ops, and Black Mesa's backwards-ass layout and experiments in order to find a way out.

Tropes in Shephard's Mind:

• Adaptational Angst Upgrade: There's no mention of Adrian feeling as though he's lacking as a Marine in his diaries as shown in Opposing Force.
• Almost Dead Guy: Adrian encounters one who tells him aliens will kill him and he has to leave.
  Shephard: Thanks for the update! Dumbass!
• And I Must Scream: Adrian's fate at the end of the series. The G-Man captures him after he defeats the giant portal creature, is stripped of his weapons, and is placed into suspended animation where it's implied he'll be fully conscious the whole time. It's clearly A Fate Worse Than Death, as Adrian ends the series lamenting how he can't even commit suicide to escape due to lack of weapons.
• Anti-Villain: As in Opposing Force, Adrian's role in the grand scheme of the Black Mesa storyline is as a member of the military coming in to contain and cover up the Resonance Cascade incident. At various points, Adrian tries to fulfill the initial mission of trying to kill Gordon Freeman but he ultimately just wants to find a way to escape Black Mesa. Some dialogue even mentions how Adrian and some of his men don't even know the true nature of their presence there and his run-ins with black ops softly confirm Gordon's theories of the soldiers intentionally killing each other.
• Apologetic Attacker: Shephard when he attacks the Black Ops agents that he wishes to go on a date with.
• Armor Meter: As in the game, Shephard has a shield meter.
• Big Bad: Unlike Gordon who's generally oblivious to his presence, the G-Man is fully acknowledged by Adrian as the main antagonist, recognizing him as a mysterious agent who appeared during mission briefings and Lydia acknowledges that he's bad news. It probably helps that there are more direct encounters with the G-Man throughout Opposing Force than in the main Half-Life game.
• Biting-the-Hand Humor: Shephard when messing around with a steam valve.
  Shephard: God damn it, steam! I HATE steam!
• Bullet Hole Spelling: Adrian does this in episode 15 thanks to his Shock Roach weapon that spells out "ADRiAN kicks ASS!" on a large white wall.
• The Cameo:
  • Adrian encounters Barney Calhoun from Barney's Mind while trapped in Gordon's locker.
  • The black ops lady Lydia that Adrian interrogates is voiced by CyhAnide of Chell's Mind.
• Casanova Wannabe: Adrian repeatedly tries to flirt with various female black ops agents, even though they're trying to shoot him. The one time he manages to actually talk to one, she's Happily Married.
• Cerebus Call-Back: Adrian at various points noted how much he wished he found a chance to do a typical Marine "Hoo-rah!" He finds said chance... after he is captured by the G-Man and imprisoned in suspended animation despite everything he has gone through, ending his rumination on his experiences at Black Mesa with an earned and yet very defeated "Hoo-rah."
• Contrasting Sequel Main Character: It's very noticeable that Robin goes to great lengths to differentiate Adrian Shephard not only from Gordon Freeman, but also the other Mind spin-off protagonists as well. Rather than being some mentally unwell, self-absorbed Jerkass, Adrian is more of a Jerk with a Heart of Gold who is more of an Unwitting Pawn tossed into a meat grinder than a Deconstructed Character Archetype of a First-Person Shooter protagonist. Because of this, he comes across as even more of an Only Sane Man than Gordon, as he has none of the sketchy history or sociopathic disregard for other people; he actually does care for his fellow Marines and is even at one point torn up when he thinks the ghosts of those who died under his command are haunting him.
• Cowardly Lion: The video descriptions describe Adrian as a "cowardly individual." If this is true, then Adrian is more of this trope than a true Dirty Coward.
• Crossover:
  • With Barney's Mind. Adrian ends up trapped in Gordon's locker and meets Barney, who tries to help him get out but to no avail. After Barney leaves to find some other way to help him, Adrian ends up freeing himself anyways, and both are soon individually teleported away.
  • With Freeman's Mind. While Ross Scott doesn't make a vocal appearance in Shephard's Mind, Robin does cameo as a "mysterious voice" screaming "BACKRUUUBS!" behind Gordon as he jumps into the portal to Xen.
• Downer Ending: Much like the original Opposing Force, Adrian ends up captured by the G-Man and forced into suspended animation for an indefinite period of time. The series ends on a hell of a downer as Adrian reflects on everything that he's been through and even laments his inability to put himself out of his misery due to being deprived of his weapons.
• The Faceless: Thanks to the locker door between them, Adrian never sees Barney's face as he tries to get him to free him.
• Fade to Black: Lampshaded by Adrian and incorporated into the series; in-game moments of black are acknowledged by Adrian as moments where he's unconscious. He even notes that everything has gone dark in the Downer Ending to show that his fate is indeed an instance of And I Must Scream.
• Failed Attempt at Drama: In the finale, Adrian gives a "No More Holding Back" Speech and charges into the portal chamber to fight the giant creature... then he gets a sudden leg cramp and has to hobble back to cover to limber up.
• Gas Mask Mook: If this were from Gordon's point of view, Adrian would be this.
• Hypercompetent Sidekick: Otis:.
  Shephard: (Vortigaunt teleports in) Oh not more of this sh- (Otis shoots the alien dead before Shephard can finish). Um, wow. What do you even need us soldiers for?
• Imagine Spot: When the G-Man prevents him from escaping Black Mesa, a furious Adrian then fist fights a group of aliens that teleport in... only for Adrian to muse that it sure it would be cool if he knew any melee combat and instead resorts to uncontrollably firing his submachine gun at everyone.
• Informed Attribute: Adrian describes himself as someone with huge arms that make him look like Popeye. Humorously, his arms look fairly normal when they pop out from the corners of the screen.
• Informed Flaw: The video descriptions all claim that Adrian is a cowardly individual. If this is true, the series doesn't really show it too much beyond very understandable fight or flight responses to the kind of shit he runs into.
• I've Got an X, and I'm Not Afraid to Use It!: Shephard uses this line, sort of.
  Shephard: I've got a half-melted chocolate bar and I'm not afraid to eat it! 'Cause it would be good...
• Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Shephard is a marine, and is of course going to be combat oriented, but he genuinely cares for competent people, most notably Otis. He also mourns the loss of his fellow comrades, at one point believing he is hearing the ghosts of dead marines.
• Killed Mid-Sentence: Shephard is in the middle of a battle and asking one of his comrades about the operation.
  Shephard: Hey, is it true this whole thing is all a government cover up?
  [Spore grenade lands next the medic]
  Medic: Government cover ups are—
  [Spore grenade explodes and kills him]
  Shephard: [To the aliens] Oh fuck off! He was just about to explain everything!
• Matchlight Danger Revelation: In episode 21, Shephard turns on his night-vision only to find an alien staring at him.
• Mondegreen Gag: After Shephard hears a Shock Trooper alien cry out "Kss wirt ras!"^Translation Throwing grenade!
  Shephard: What's it saying? "Sweaters"? That's right, the aliens are cold and they want our sweaters. I should have learned to knit. At least then I'd be valuable to them as a prisoner of war.
• Mythology Gag: Episode 0 has a nod to Freeman's Mind: when the drill instructor approaches Adrian, he mutters "just be cool you didn't do anything wrong, just breathe. Breathe!" in the same intonation as Gordon when he's trying to conspicuously go to work late.
• Mushroom Samba: Adrian accidentally takes Gordon's Oxycodone and spends much of an episode high as a kite.
• "No More Holding Back" Speech: In the finale, Adrian briefly enters a Heroic BSoD upon becoming overwhelmed by Black Mesa's stupidity and the sight of the huge creature coming out of the portal. At the encouragement of Sparky and Gill, Adrian decides he has had enough of running and to go down fighting:
  Shephard: Alright. I was never a good Marine. I couldn't protect the people under my command. I never caught Freeman. I couldn't go fifteen meters without running into some insurmountable delay. I didn't deserve my advanced training, or even my rank as Corporal. Some guys just dropped it on me. I'm not even fighting for a cause, I just don't want to die. All the good things I did today were just because I got backed into a corner and could only keep charging forward. If I die today, nobody's gonna remember. Adrian Shephard might as well have never had existed. But you know what? I refuse to believe this over-convoluted clusterfuck of a disaster happened just so I could get eaten by a giant squid in a dusty ventilation shaft! So screw it. I'm gonna go in there. I'm gonna fight. And I'm gonna fucking win! Come and get me, you— ow! Oh! Leg cramp! Leg cramp! Leg cramp! Ow!
• Offscreen Moment of Awesome: Adrian takes down an entire squad of black ops agents and leaves one conscious for interrogation (and flirting). All of the action is not seen due to Adrian shooting out the lights to get the drop on them.
• Opposite Day: Shephard has a very confusing conversation with this. (For Shephard at least).
• Painting the Medium: The HUD can't be disabled in Opposing Force, so it was left in. It's milked for a couple of jokes and is mentioned to be a Diegetic Interface (his Powered Combat Vest monitors his vitals and the power of its Deflector Shield, and projects it on the eyepeices of his gas mask).
• Pre Ass Kicking One Liner: From Shephard's mind Ep 23:
  Shephard: "You guys are right on time! It's quarter to SUBMACHINE GUN."
• Present Company Excluded: After being attacked by a shock roach: "Not today you jumping thunder***! No offense Sparky."
• Properly Paranoid: When seeing the G-Man for the third time, Shephard thinks that he might be an alien spy. Is he really that far off?
• Repeating So the Audience Can Hear: Adrian's conversation with Sparky and Gill in the finale. He somehow understands them and eventually wishes they were as quiet as Barney the Barnacle.
• Running Gag:
  • Adrian and the chocolate bar he found.
  • Three words: Electrified toxic waste.
• Shout-Out:.
  • Episode 5:
    Shephard: I wonder who is this "Freeman" guy is any ways and why he has everyone so riled up. I bet he is some evil scientist who drops people down elevator shafts and collects skulls or something.
  • Shephard finds the portal gun in Episode 10:
    Shephard: I didn't expect a scientist to be carrying the BFG 9000.
  • Episode 11:
    Shephard: Now I'm thinking with portals.
  • Episode 18:
    '''(cue unforgettable pills acquisition sound from Afraid of Monsters, albeit slightly sped-up)
  • Episode 20:
    Shephard: Come to think of it, Mark Meer kinda sounds like me. 'I'm Corporal Shephard, and this is my least favorite tunnel in Black Mesa.'
  • Episode 23: "Diplomacy with aliens is hard. That Iji chick makes it look so simple!"
  • To the Doom Comic.
    Shephard: "You are moderate sized! That means you have moderate sized guts!"
  • Shephard recalls a time he snuck into Aperture Science and messed with all the keyboards as a prank. This a reference to a small easter egg in Portal where all the keyboards have the letters ASHPD (Aperature Science Handheld Portal Device) highlighted but people mistook these as the letters in "Adrian SHePharD" instead.
  • To Transformers
    Shephard: "I only know one sentence in alien... Bah-weep-graaaaagnah wheep nini bong."
  • Episode 13 had Shephard contemplate his legs needing to be replaced by cyborg ones.
    Shephard: "Man, I'd be up for that. I'd be some kind of an ... Iron .. person."
  • "This is my weird squid, slime alien gun thing. There are many like it, but this one is mine."
  • "COME OVER HERE."
• Skewed Priorities: Adrian flirts with the female black ops agents despite the fact that they are actively trying to kill him.
• Speak Friend and Enter: After half an episode of trying to get out of a locker (with Barney's reluctant help), Shephard realises the door opens the other way.
• Stock Scream: Wilhelm appears in Episode 19.
• Strange Minds Think Alike: Adrian is befuddled by the presence of electrified toxic waste in Black Mesa and rhetorically wonders if it's the secret ingredient to Red Bull. Barney later "confirms," but in his own series he admits he has no idea what Adrian is talking about.
• Take That!:
  • When musing about being a vampire, Shephard notes:
    Shephard: "Well if I was a vampire, and I'd walk out in the sun, I'd BURST OUT IN FLAMES. Because THAT IS WHAT VAMPIRES DO. STEPHANIE MEYER."
  • One stinger in Shephard's Mind has Krim snarking that he's putting out episodes faster than Ross Scott.
• Talking to the Dead: Shephard thinks he's hearing the ghosts of the Marines he allowed to die under his command in Episode 21. It turns out to be a few soldiers talking above the surface.
• Tap on the Head: Shephard tries this with a Black ops member. He's really bad at it.
• Teleporter Accident: Shephard at one point gets teleported into the floor from the waist down.
• Too Dumb to Live: Shephard believes this is the case for all of the soldiers and Black Mesa staff who seemed to have died within arm's reach of a perfectly good medkit or health dispenser. Why didn't they just use them if they were about to die?
• Total Party Kill: In Episode 21:
  (a Shock Trooper tosses a spore grenade at Shephard's squad; Shephard runs for his life)
  Shephard: Oh shit, scatter!
  (soldiers stand still perfectly still next to the grenade, resulting in two of them being blown to bits, with the last being heavily wounded)
  Shephard: Well good job guys! I asked you to scatter, so you scattered... all over the place!
• Unflinching Walk:Shephard shows a fantastic example of this, during his fight with the lightning pigs in the finale.
  Shephard: This makes me ask myself, did teleporting to an alien planet make you completely Asiatic? To which I respond: "Yes, but watch this."
• What Measure Is a Mook?: Considering Gordon's point of view on how the military is constantly trying to kill him, this series does a lot to humanize the soldiers sent into Black Mesa, with Shephard personally knowing several of them by name, being really friendly with them, and their deaths weighing heavily on him as the series goes on.
• What Would X Do?: Episode 13 had Shephard stuck in the floor, so he thinks "What would MacGyver do?" and then come up with a bunch of Noodle Implements which he doesn't have, so he then thinks "What would Batman do?" and come up with the fact Batman is too Crazy-Prepared to even go into Black Mesa.
• What You Are in the Dark: When he's about to face down the final boss, Shephard admits that he'll probably never escape the facility, nobody outside would ever know what happened in Black Mesa, nor will they ever know he even existed. However, he resolves to go down fighting anyways.
• A Wizard Did It: Shephard decides that this is surely the reason for everything that's going on.
• Would Hit a Girl: Shephard, of all people, in a pretty brutal way, with a healthy dose of Sociopathy to boot.
  Shephard: Yup. I'm a saint.

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"Hoo-rah."