Even if I have been away from the forums for long time, I just decided to pass and say good bye to all the ash fans over here. It has been a wonderful experience and, since I have seen some unofficial forums are being created, I hope to meet many of you somewhere else to continue discussing Ash and the overall ME experience
See you all soon
Nogro
I recently heard about BioWare shutting down the Mass Effect Forums. It compelled me to come back and get a few things off my chest and on the record for posterity. And I felt this post of mine sums up my feelings of BioWare: A company I once loved and admired but now all that remains is something akin to hate and disappointment. As well as my thoughts, feelings and history with Lt. Commander Ashley Williams. I intended to post this a long time ago but never did. I only shared it with a friend. knightnblu And now I share it with everyone.
Goodbye BioWare. Goodbye Mass Effect Franchise. You'll always be my favorite Sci-Fi Space Opera & Video-Game Franchise. In spite of how many ways your company upset and disappointed many of us with their idiotic business decisions at times that hurt the overall enjoyment of their intellectual property.
So her is my own version of "Speaker For The Dead"
Deceased: Lieutenant Commander Ashley Williams
My canon Shepard goes all the way back to 2183 and 2010. Colonist/War Hero/Soldier. Being a Star of Terra recipient, Ash has alot of respect and admiration for Shepard. What drew him to her was not only her strength and beauty, but how she expresses herself.Her love of family and their Alliance baggage. Shep & Ash have every reason to hate the Systems Alliance.
Ash for what they did to her grandfather, father and how they sidelined her own military upward mobility.
Shep for how the Alliance 'First Contact War' mentality toward colonial defense. Cost the lives of his parents, friends and many neighbors on Mindoir. When Batarian Slavers and Pirates ransacked the place with no intention of staying around waiting for the Alliance to kick them off the planet. They pillaged and plundered and abducted men, women and children and went on there marry way. Long before the Alliance arrived to render assistance to the colonist fighting for their lives.
Gunnery Chief Ashley Williams & Lieutenant Commander Shepard both have every reason to hate the Systems Alliance but instead they chose to serve and make it better. This is the source of their bond. The foundation of what later became their love for one another. Shepard wanted to marry Ashley post Battle of the Citadel. But the Collector attack set both of them on a new path.
He wasn't having any of that. He was like:
So what did I mean by lack of reciprocation? Post Mars -- Ash sends Shep text messages, asking him to come and visit her at the hospital. Because she wants to see him and talk to him. When she get's out of the hospital she ask Shep to come with her to the Memorial for her sister's husband for moral support. She doesn't even introduce Shepard to her sister. And originally my Shepard did next to everything she asked of him.
I stopped by the hospital. I supported her at the Memorial Wall. Went on a lunch date with her at the Presidium. But eventually I reached this, "Hang-on. What the hell am I doing point?!" And realized just how one-sided their relationship is.There is no give and take whatsoever. And I'm not cool with that.
On a recent play-through of ME3, I killed her dead.I didn't intend to.I thought Shep was just going to just give her a flesh wound. But I was wrong--it was a kill-shot.One that I cannot say that I regret.Though I think her death in that manner is unfortunate.
The words:
"Character is destiny." have never been more apt.
I'll never forget how disappointed I was with her when she accepted Councilor Udina's offer to become a Spectre. I don't even believe that Ashley thinks that she is a qualified Specte candidate. A Spectre must be politically savvy, culturally sophisticated and above all have an absolute unwavering "Failure is not an option!" mentality. Williams isn't the biggest fan of aliens and she's a hot head. She's a strong fighter and a crack-shot. But not Spectre material. I'm not even sure if she would make a good N7. Her last tour as a squad commander didn't turn out so well. What with her entire unit getting wiped out, save for herself. But she takes the position as a Spectre anyway, because it improves her families rep and status. Which is understandable to a certain degree and deplorable from another vantage point. She has no regard for how much harm a person unqualified to be a Spectre could do. She doesn't care. All she cares about is that she has a shiny new bad-ass promotion.
Ash is an Systems Alliance Loyalist and her loyalty ends up getting her killed.The fact that she saw nothing wrong with pointing her gun at a fellow Spectre. The fact that she thought that a man who sacrificed thousands of human lives to save the Council during the Battle of the Citadel, was now going to kill them.The fact that she sides with Udina. Freaking Donnell Udina. A man that she cannot stand.But a man none the less who elevated her position says everything about her. Ashley is a status wh*re! And she followed her pimp to the Underworld. To add insult to injury. At times it seemed as though Ash hated Cerberus more so even than Jack does. Yet Ashley (in a way) was made a Spectre by a man who was working with the very organization that she loathed most of all. How messed up is that. How tragic and unfortunate is the unhappy end that her life came to...
"You either die a hero or live long enough to see yourself become the villain." Harvey Dent - The Dark Knight
It would have been better for her to die on Virmire. For at least then she would have died with honor and dignity. I find what Shepard has to say about Ash and her death, Post-Cerberus Coup very revealing, appropriate, harsh but true. Renegade Shepard speaks the unfiltered truth about her and what went down on the Citadel with no reservations or apologies.
So if you want to know what I think of Ashley Williams. Let me put it like this:
Lieutenant Commander Ashley Williams puts the "Yum" in Williams and the C in c*nt!
If I sound like a angry bastard, that's because I felt so strongly about Ash and Shep together. I could get meta and say that it seems to me that many writers and higher ups at BioWare didn't care much for Ash and that's why she's so poorly written in Mass Effect 3. They even removed scenes and dialogue she had from the game. But to stay in character and immersed in the galaxy of ME3. What it ultimately comes down to is what went down on Horizon betwixt Shep and the Virmire Survivor is nothing compared to what Ash & Kaiden say to Shepard on Mars. Practically accusing Shep of being a co-conspirator with Cerberus and either being complicit or condoning the killing of Alliance soldiers and personnel on Mars. When she made that accusation I wanted to knock her on her a*s!
The entire campaign she doubts and second guesses Shep. It's not until Shep destroys Cerberus HQ that she is finally convinced that Shepard is not some Cerberus sleeper agent. Forget the fact that Admiral Anderson, The Council and Admiral Hackett all give Commander Shepard their vote of confidence. But no...The great and powerful and wise Lieutenant Commander Ashley Williams knows better than everyone else.There all wrong about Shepard and she's right. "Shepard is not to be trusted." That's the impression she gives time and time again. Tali, Garrus, Wrex and others all give Shepard the benefit of the doubt in 2185. They choose to think the best about him. That he's working with Cerberus either to destroy it from within. Or the Collector threat to humanity makes strange bedfellows. But Ashley & Kaiden choose to not think the best of Shepard.They choose to think the worst of him. That he is a traitor. A sell-out. A disgrace to the Alliance and humanity.
All the missions they went on with Shep. All the good deeds they accomplished together count for nothing in their eyes now. This song comes to mind: "If You Don't Know Me By Now"
I wasn't planning on doing another playthrough, as I'm really done with the trilogy, having played it numerous times and not being happy about the ending. but because the forums are closing down and we might not see each other again, I thought, what the heck.
I will be streaming a full playthrough with Ash coming saturday and sunday (or as long as it takes) on Twitch. Not sure if it's allowed to link twitch here, so I'll just name the channel name: jayszandkun. Edit, might as well, I doubt they care at this point: https://www.twitch.tv/jayszandkun
I will start around 19:00 CET. Hope to see you there 
It's a bit tentative though, I'm a bit sick now, hopefully I'll be better in the weekend.
And if not, 'we've had a hell of a ride'
Retour en haut