Shepard sighed, running her free hand through her unkempt hair. "Because he made his choice when he set the charge on that bomb. Going back would have only told him that he did the wrong thing, and that his decision had killed Ash and the Salarians."
Garrus thought about that, surprised by the honest answer.
"Willams doesn't seem to agree," he pointed out.
Shepard smirked slightly. "Just between you and me? She has a case of survivor's guilt. She'll come around eventually."
"What makes you so certain?"
The commander chuckled, taking a swig of her beer. "I've been in her shoes, remember? You eventually learn to move on, if you're strong enough. And Ash is strong."
Garrus digested her words, tapping a talon on his own drink. This human commander never ceased to surprise him. Her insight into people was astounding.
"Kaidan was a good soldier. He saved us all. I won't have his sacrifice regretted."
The turian nodded. "To Kaidan," he said, raising his bottle.
Shepard smiled slightly and clinked her drink against his.
"To Kaidan."
---
I figured (in my colonist Shepard's own personal canon) that right after Virmire was when she started connecting with Garrus as more than just another person under her command. She needed someone to talk to, and Ash, her defacto conversation buddy was giving her the cold shoulder, and Wrex was a poor choice when dealing with feelings that don't involve wanting to shoot something.
Also, despite my inability to kill Ash, I don't actually hate Kaidan. I just find Ash more interesting personality-wise.
I really need to start learning how to do decent backgrounds. Straight lines and anything mechanical are apparently my bane.
EDIT: Apparently it's KaidAN, not KaidEN. Shows how much I pay attention I've been spelling it with an 'e' forever. Thanks to those who pointed it out.
DO NOT COPY, TRACE, STEAL, USE WITHOUT PERMISSION, ETC Mass Effect (c) Bioware Art (c) me and All Nighter Productions
I was a little surprised and disappointed how in the games you never get to hang with Garrus and get drunk with him like you do with Dr. Chakwas. I can look at this and imagine instead.
Wow. Just...wow. How do you do it? How do you bring so much emotion in the viewer without showing the faces of the characters in the image? Even if you had not included the dialogue in the summary...how do you bring out so much emotion just from the stances alone? You're incredible.
The cold calculation that Shepard took in Vimire...I get the feeling that Garrus was the only person she would share this with. It makes me wonder how the rest of the Normandy Crew (not just the main characters like Williams and Tali) would view their commander. No doubt she's a great officer and a hell of a soldier who guarantees results on a mission, but...there's something...detached...about her.
I really liked the notes you put in after the summary. So, in your story, she started to bond with Garrus after that mission with the Salarians...I wonder who accompanied her into the facility, who saw the indoctrinated salarians with her, who heard the words of Sovereign with her... So this was where she truly started to form a friendship with the ex-cop Turian. And it was just the beginning and would become something far more than that...
I agree with you about the character of Kaidan Alenko. Some ME players hated Williams for her attitude and being a xenophobe, but I LIKED that aspect. It makes her more of a true character. At least she got SOMETHING out of the player, negative or not. With Alenko I felt literially nothing. He strikes me as possibly the most one-dimensional and least interesting character in the entire series, not just the main crew of the Normandy. Even his backstory with him inadvertently killing the bully to save Rahna wasn't interesting. Williams' family name being blackened by her grandfather was far better in my opinion.
Before leaving this page, I took one more look at this artpiece...just beautiful. Everything about it, from the location to the postures to the actions of the toast...this one was done to perfection. Not showing the expressions HELPS it too. You really are a master artist.
Thank you very much for your kind words. You've definitely made my day with your kind comments. I honestly don't have words enough to thank you. It means a great deal to me when people get such a powerful response out of something I've created, and keeps me going forward in the art world.
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*Bleedingraptorclaw
icon by ~Neriad
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*Bleedingraptorclaw
icon by ~Neriad
anyway: great pic
*sigh* if that would be the ending of ME3 *dreaming*
How do you do it? How do you bring so much emotion in the viewer without showing the faces of the characters in the image?
Even if you had not included the dialogue in the summary...how do you bring out so much emotion just from the stances alone? You're incredible.
The cold calculation that Shepard took in Vimire...I get the feeling that Garrus was the only person she would share this with.
It makes me wonder how the rest of the Normandy Crew (not just the main characters like Williams and Tali) would view their commander. No doubt she's a great officer and a hell of a soldier who guarantees results on a mission, but...there's something...detached...about her.
I really liked the notes you put in after the summary. So, in your story, she started to bond with Garrus after that mission with the Salarians...I wonder who accompanied her into the facility, who saw the indoctrinated salarians with her, who heard the words of Sovereign with her...
So this was where she truly started to form a friendship with the ex-cop Turian. And it was just the beginning and would become something far more than that...
I agree with you about the character of Kaidan Alenko. Some ME players hated Williams for her attitude and being a xenophobe, but I LIKED that aspect. It makes her more of a true character. At least she got SOMETHING out of the player, negative or not.
With Alenko I felt literially nothing. He strikes me as possibly the most one-dimensional and least interesting character in the entire series, not just the main crew of the Normandy.
Even his backstory with him inadvertently killing the bully to save Rahna wasn't interesting. Williams' family name being blackened by her grandfather was far better in my opinion.
Before leaving this page, I took one more look at this artpiece...just beautiful. Everything about it, from the location to the postures to the actions of the toast...this one was done to perfection. Not showing the expressions HELPS it too.
You really are a master artist.