#hesitant. reflective. careful. perhaps guilty. but wanting to be back in dana's good graces because she clings to that validation and

[pinkfey]

since we're on the topic of mandated besties i wanna talk abt dana and liara bc i tripped the other day and got really into them

#for dana liara was an instant surrogate sister #even on her relationship chart she skips neutral/respect and they're friends from the start #and this makes sense for dana as an eldest child who lost all of her little siblings on mindoir #there's this sense of protection and willingness from dana #going out of her way to check on liara not in a coddling way but out of recognition for just how young she is and their mission can't be #-easy on her #i wouldn't say they were particularly close in me1 (at least not from dana's perspective. she was closer to ash and wrex--equals-- #something liara couldn't be for her again in a sister way) but liara idolized her anyway and WANTED to be seen as an equal #bc dana is one of the first people to care for her like this and she latches onto that #BUT liara recovering dana's body was a huge betrayal of trust for dana and opened her eyes to the unhealthy sort of attachment she #-unwittingly allowed liara to form. she as an eldest sister feels she has to take some form of responsibility for liara's obsession #so in me2 she's cold with her and liara's posturing can't hide how hurt this makes her feel #and she helps her become the shadow broker but cuts her off there and this absolutely breaks liara because she did everything for dana !! #she did it for her !! her friend her sister her idol !! yes she crossed a boundary but how could she have let her go !! #and her and liara's friendship ends off in me2 very bleakly and with liara trying to keep up her callous girlboss persona to make #-it seem as if she's matured -- the thing that put her and dana at a distance in me1 -- but she's broken and introspective #and so then in me3 things are just as tense with dana and liara as they are with kaidan but in a much softer way. much less volatile #liara may have put on her calculated facade but being around dana reduced her to that same hopeful desperate to please child she was deep #down. desperate to gain recognition and forgiveness from her older sister. not in an overt way but in her body language and tone of voice-- #hesitant. reflective. careful. perhaps guilty. but wanting to be back in dana's good graces because she clings to that validation and #-recognition. so for the majority of me3 they work on their friendship and liara building up trust with dana again #and dana finally looks at her as an equal -- still sisterly. still young. -- but she doesn't need to treat her differently like she used to #and liara grows immensely. still changed by the past two years. still battling herself inside. but so much healthier #until that final scene with liara resting her head on her shoulder feels EARNED #okay that's my.. rant..? my paragraph?? i like this iteration of liara as a young growing kid the best it makes me ill #especially as a youngest sister who idolized one of my brothers to a similarly self-destructive degree as liara #if u read this i kissa u on the lips !! i know it's very different from canon liara/shepard but it compels me more #and i (personally) think leans into her obsession/creepiness thus adding to her complexity and exploring her character !! #anyways.txt #ch: dana shepard