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flowerflamestars · 1 year

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Migration Patterns snippet

“Dick,” Tim slurred, “Make Elle ask for your blessing.” Busy gently removing the mask from his face and unclipping the cape Elle had failed to budge in the slightest, Dick mostly swallowed his laugh. “My blessing for what, Timbo.” He groaned, as light actually reached his eyes. Flung his arm over his face and said matter of factually, “Kon doesn’t want me. Jason doesn’t want Ellie. Going to get married and ‘ake back the the company. Sexy affairs. Elle can be a hot widow. Everybody wins.” There wasn’t even a pause in Dick’s steady disassembling of Tim’s suit, pulling off various belts and pieces of interlocking armor, but he looked at Elle. Eleanor decided she was very, very interested in the view out the window. The rest of the strip down process involved taking a blood sample, listening as Tim noted his five point plan for their loveless charade of a marriage, and an aside about that fact that if Jason tried to kill him it would be fine- he’d already had a shot and it hadn’t stuck. Elle actually climbed out the window onto the fire escape, at that point. Was still, numbly, looking up at the light-polluted sky, when Dick landed soundlessly beside her. “Thought you didn’t like heights.” “Hate them,” Elle admitted, sleeves pulled down tight over her cold, cold hands. “Would this be a good time to state for the record that I am not, and have no intention of ever, ever dating Tim?” Dick folded himself down beside her. Wrapped his arms around his knees and then tangled his hands together too, hunched against encroaching winter. It didn’t dim the horrible kindness palpable from his smile, here in late Autumn’s dark predawn. “I guessed that, yeah.” He bumped her shoulder, a light, glancing sway. Grinned enormously. “Have actually seen you around Jay. And I’ve seen him look at you.” Better than Elle had gotten, recently.

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thedragonaspect · 3 years

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Questions I asked myself so that I could talk about my Commander Darcy Jane Shepard: a Spacer and reformed-Ruthless Engineer with additional training in Sniper Rifles who romanced Kaidan.

Who are they at heart?

Darcy is practical, driven, and very good at compartmentalizing stress. She is a soldier first, and friend second because the soldier has a better chance at keeping herself and her friends alive.

How do they differ as the Commander and as Shepard?

‘Commander Shepard’ is the job, a persona to get the best performance out of the crew, but one that Darcy occupies so intensely that the distinction becomes pretty slim. She has next to nothing outside the Normandy – only her mother. She was an only child in a family of islands – three people who enjoyed each other’s company when it was available, but had no significant need for it. If anything, Darcy needs the Commander because she’s the avenue that allows her to connect with others.

What qualities make them an effective fighter?

As Aria puts it, she has her mind clear and her shit together. Darcy is rarely overwhelmed; she is tenacious and methodical in breaking down challenges into solvable components. Fear and danger are just problems to crack. When she does get scared, her instinct is to control and shut down the source. Getting shot at? Overheat their weapons. Biotics? Use damping. Enemies everywhere? See them first and pick them off at long range. She is not so composed in melee range, where she fights more urgently and reactively – and she picked up a few (entirely fair) cautions for using excessive force in sparring.

What qualities make them an effective leader?

Training. Torfan was Darcy’s wakeup call that it wasn’t enough to be a ruthless exemplar – she needed to engage with the people in her unit to lead successfully. Frustrated by the waste of life and determined never to repeat it, Darcy threw herself into learning to do better. She is not, in fact, a natural leader, but a dedicated taught one.

What were they like in training?

Darcy was focused, solitary, and unpopular. She initially qualified as a tech specialist, which she was very good at – then it turned out that she was good at everything. She was also completely indifferent to the offense it caused when the engineer outfought the soldiers assigned to escort her to mission targets.

Which dialog options felt most in character for them (or their crew)?

Versus General Petrovsky, being able to dismiss his taunts that it would take too long to shut down a reactor on Omega with the engineer-exclusive line “Maybe if I was a stupid grunt.” was the single most empowering moment in the trilogy for me. That’s my girl, and she knows what she’s doing. Take that, Commander John Canon Shepard. As for squadmates: Wrex complaining that krogan females like to talk about things, then think, then talk some more – adding “no offence” to Shepard – was great. And possibly my favourite Kaidan line from ME3, on learning that Shepard was clinically brain dead during the Lazarus Project: “What was it like? I mean, if you remember…or…how do you feel?” It’s just such a moronic yet well-meaning question – character consistency for Kaidan who sometimes speaks before he thinks. Citadel such beautiful banter in it, Shepard explaining that the mercs after her “have guns and don’t like me,” and Kaidan’s “Very helpful. Thanks.” are perfectly delivered, as is the “I should go” identity crisis.

Which dialog options felt least in character for them (or their crew)?

The Kaidan romance in ME3 line “I can’t bury what I feel for you anymore,” was just awful. While shooting bottles on the Citadel with Garrus, I wanted a genuine option to miss, not just to miss on purpose – he is the better shot. When discussing the Illusive Man with Kaidan, I wish there had been an option to be completely unsurprised by what was happening on Sanctuary rather than being railroaded into “I never saw this coming.” Because nothing TIM did would come as a shock to Darcy.

Which game did they look best in?

Darcy looked best in the original Mass Effect, by far, in her signature navy blue Guardian armour. She’s pale as hell, since she has spent her life in artificial lighting, or fully covered in armour – though that skin tone looked pretty weird in ME3. I loved the Engineer class from the outset, lightly armoured with an orange tech gadget that let you control the battlefield. The slimline suits for Shepard and Kaidan made the technology seem more advanced, with kinetic barriers being far more important than physical armour – clean silhouettes distinct to Mass Effect compared to Halo, so it was a bummer that they moved away from that in the sequels. I really hate the chunky, shiny, booby armour in ME2 and 3.

What was their mindset in each game?

Chasing Saren with the Normandy SR1 was Darcy’s dream command. She was in love with the ship and thrived in the expanded mandate of being a Spectre on a hunt. It was a little daunting when that changed to a mission to save the galaxy, but she rolled with it. Waking up in ME2 was a completely different story, she was hurt and deeply afraid of what had been done to her. Over time, she discovered that her implants were more benign than she had feared – they were high-end versions of standard treatments. You wouldn’t normally find so many in one person, because they’d be dead first…which Shepard was. As for ME3, she was ready. She had nightmares and was aware it wasn’t entirely healthy to ringfence the issue, but she was functional for the entire campaign (with one exception below).

Which moments rattled them?

Thane’s death really shook her. They were not romantic in ME2, but Thane was the only crew member to pick up on how distressed Darcy was behind being the Commander. They became very close, and even before he died, she deeply regretted her obedience to the no-contact rules of house arrest. His fight with Kai Leng was simply too close and too fast for her to help. Afterwards, she went drinking at Purgatory until she passed out on Aria’s couch. Meanwhile, Kaidan was brooding over the Udina standoff (Darcy shot Udina), which just wasn’t on her radar by comparison.

Which moments didn’t?

Darcy was relatively unfazed by the destruction of Aratoht, though a little horrified at herself for being that way. The number was just too large to take in. She saw no use in second-guessing while the Reaper invasion was imminent, so put off processing any deeper feelings till later. On a selfish level, the Reaper invasion finally relieved her doubts that she might just be insane, scrambled by the Beacon.

How do they feel about shipboard romances?

Kaidan was both the best and worst thing that could have happened to Darcy, and it was agonizing. She had previously taken a hard stance on fraternization and she never expected to be tempted herself. She was prepared to deal with it as a one-sided problem, privately carrying a bit of a torch for him, but then it became obvious that he liked her back. The horror. Her eventual solution was can’t now, but can look forward to exploring post-mission – they had a couple of moments, but did not get together until after Saren’s defeat (partly because of Kaidan briefly thinking she’d been killed by Sovereign’s wreckage). Darcy gave herself a hard time over it, shore leave or no shore leave. By ME3, they realized ‘post-mission’ might not come, and Darcy loosened up a bit. As Spectres, they were equals, and Kaidan was adjacent to her chain of command rather than in it.

Who do they feel they have to look after?

Darcy came onto the Normandy planning to be the bad cop to Anderson’s good, but all that was overturned when she was handed command. So, she shifted into a more supportive role from the outset, to the surprise of the crew who only knew her by reputation. In Mass Effect, she kept an eye on Tali, but found that Engineer Adams had that covered; she was also careful with Liara, effectively a ‘young’ civilian (who might or might not be affiliated with Benezia). In ME2, things were complicated because Darcy was in trouble herself. Grunt, Garrus, Jack and Joker were all extremely competent in their fields, but were struggling in different ways. Things flipped again in ME3 – Joker and Garrus were back up to speed supporting Shepard, while she tried to take care of EDI (experiencing new autonomy), James (the new guy dropped right in it), Javik (the old guy dropped right in it), and Liara and Tali (both neck-deep in new responsibilities).

Who looks after them?

She was in her element in Mass Effect and didn’t need any help – although Kaidan squeaked in a few moments of support that were appreciated. In ME2, she was isolated, not wanting to lean on Garrus who was mourning his team, or Joker who had unresolved issues over his role in her death. She was starting to fray by the time Thane and Samara joined the team, and she was utterly grateful to have them. Competent, trustworthy and unaffiliated with Cerberus – thank fuck. By then, she was also more confident that Cerberus did not have direct control over her, and could actually take them up on the offered friendship. By ME3, the crew was a close-knit team, Garrus, Joker, and EDI all checking in on Darcy, and vice versa. Kaidan, by her request, kept his support discreet on the Normandy (once all the Cerberus drama was worked through).

How do they feel about Earth?

Earth was never for Darcy – it’s not her home, and her house arrest was the first time she’d lived there. She recognized it as a powerful focal point for the war, but her personal fight was primarily against the Reapers, and second, more for the people than the place.

If they survived the Reaper war, were they okay?

The short answer is yes. It was an anti-climax to shift to just being a Spectre again, but it played to Darcy’s original strength. Give her a problem to solve, and she will break it down and get started. There was lasting anxiety among the crew that it would be such a waste if any of them got killed now, but it could have happened any time before the Reapers, and was guaranteed to happen at some point after. They managed. My very simple headcanon is that the Intelligence was wrong about Crucible affecting EDI and the geth. It did exactly what it was supposed to do - destroy the Reapers.

#mass effect #long post #darcy shepard

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