JamieCOTC wrote...
Mercy is exceptional. I love the scar and the light makeup (or is it none at all?) which are both wonderful contrasts to the hair. This is a femshep that tells you a story just by looking at her. Well done! 
She has on make up, I couldn't tell you what kind at the moment, but I tried to make it light as possible. Thank you for the praise on Mercy. I spent more time developing her than I had for any other femshep. I spent weeks just on figuring out how I was going shape her face and hair to match the background story and image of her I had stuck in my head.
@Ashoken: thank you! Erin looks fantastic, I like her all business attitude, and I love the pic of her pointing her gun at Fist <3
@Rikketik: It was interesting to read about Ayla while aboard the normandy. A lot is always going on behind the scenes that we don't see. It was interesting to hear her thoughts when speaking with Javik and to see her spill her feelings about Victis' son.
@Verly: Roslyn looks really good, I can't wait to see how her missing love affects her.
@LadyAly: thanks! I don't know why Garrus' helmet is on; I've never had that problem before. I enjoyed reading your background for Kayleigh. The short sentences brought out the intensity of the moment.
@Krayzi: Love the Femshep art, especially the one by Hidrico. I wish I could draw so I could add to them.
@sagequeen: I don't miss the jumpsuits one bit but I can respect where you're coming from. I really like the outfit on the digital shep. It matches Kaidan and Vega's armor.
@SaturnRing: Interesting read about Shepard and Akuze.
I did a lot of summarizing in conversations and descriptions since this is a forum and not FF.net. Hopefully it doesn't seem too jumpy or forced. Once I start writing I go crazy so let me know if I'm taking up too much space. I'm trying to keep my writing itch in moderation
.
Mercy was floored when she opened her inbox and read a pile of requests from her squad mates. Nearly all of them wanted to relax or catch up on the Citadel upon next shore leave. Even Javik had taken the time to learn how communication was handled in her cycle just so he could send her a private message. He still managed to complain about how primitive the email system was while nearly demanding she come see him on the Citadel. Her amused smile fell when she came across a letter from Kaidan. He was wishing her luck yet still managed to sprinkle salt on wounds she thought had fully healed. She only read half of the email before deleting it.
Mercy abandoned her terminal to dig through the closet, her shined armor taking up the bulk of it. She pulled out a black dress that Allers had given her to wear during interviews. Mercy never wore the thing; instead opting to wear her battle scarred armor. The masses didn't need to see glamour or tight alliance uniforms; they needed someone who fought on the front lines and could tell them plainly about the war raging around them. Mercy wasn't a politician and she certainly wasn't good at dealing with people, so she skirted the politics and made sure that the names of the sacrificed weren't forgotten. It was the least she could do.
The dress felt odd as she squeezed into it, a bit more like a jumpsuit than formal wear. She was immediately missing the outfit Katsumi had lent her. The thing had been a victim of the collector attack along with several articles in her cabin. The illusive man still owed her a couple model ships, come to think of it. Mercy glanced in the mirror at the bags forming under her eyes and covered them with makeup. Today she wasn't dressing up for anyone in particular, it was simply for herself.
On the Citadel Garrus was the first to stop her. He was leaning against a taxi stand smiling at her in his turian way.
"Shepard, glad you came. I figured you would want to do something that didn't involve reapers for once."
"I don't think they've conquered the bar yet," she snarked and earned a reverberating chuckle.
He waved her into a taxi car and she complied with piqued curiosity. He flew the cab with precision through the Citadel's traffic and came to a stop atop a bridge. Mercy raised an eyebrow at Garrus as he leapt out of the cab and his highly illegal parking spot.
"Figured it's time to do something stupid just for the hell of it. Might be the last chance we ever get," he said without looking at her.
Mercy walked up to his back, her heels clicking noisily on the metal surface, and lightly shoved him forwards. "How about a dive in the pool?" They both looked over the edge and down at the lake spanning the length of the presidium.
Garrus deflected the idea by describing flailing turians followed by bouts of drowning.
Mercy tilted her head upwards. "You're right. I would just have to save your ass again."
Garrus gazed at the hovercar traffic above. "We've had a hell of a ride, haven't we Shepard?"
"Yeah, and it's times like these you know who your real friends are, and not the ones running around looking for an escape route. The ones who never give up on you. I'm lucky I can say I know someone like that." The words falling from her mouth felt sappy but not wrong. She meant every word. Garrus had been with her through thick and thin; Virmire, Ilos, and Cerberus.
"You're not going to propose marriage now are you?" Mercy chuckled, a sound more jovial than she felt. She had asked him, in what felt like ages ago, if he wanted to 'relieve stress' with her. It seemed like a good idea during the moment but after thinking on it a while and upon seeing Garrus' uncomfortable approach to the idea,
she backed out of her own suggestion . He really was her best friend and she never wanted to ruin that.
Joker was waiting at Purgatory's bar, his eyes glazed over as he stared out over the dance floor.
"Something on your mind?"
Joker didn't seem all that surprised when Shepard moseyed up next to him with a drink already in her hand as she leaned up against the bar. He began talking about people dancing freely without a care, even if it made them look stupid. She found it appropriate that he managed to squeeze in a mentioning of flailing arms, before he finally told her what was really bothering him.
"What do you think about me and EDI?"
Mercy felt a pang of jealously she never knew could exist and felt the world spin a little. Maybe it was the alcohol but she figured she had nothing to lose and shamelessly suggested, "You know, with all this interest in EDI, it's possible you've over looked other options."
Joker lit up with surprise and she saw the way he shifted his eyes in a way that had always meant he was uncomfortable or nervous.
"I've served with you since the day you took command. I'd follow you into hell."
"-but, not into my quarters," she slurred with reddened cheeks that had nothing to do with the concoction she had set on the bar. Mercy was ready to run for the exit like a vorcha on fire.
"I'm not Kaidan, I don't think it would work with both of us in uniform." The words stung but she appreciated him taking the time to put her down gently as opposed to the way Kaidan had shut her down. The emails he sent felt more like insults than apologies.
"And EDI doesn't wear a uniform," she concluded.
"Well, yeah. What do you think?" He sincerely wanted her opinion even right after turning her down. Mercy felt ashamed and flattered, a strange feeling that twisted her insides, so she gave him her most blunt and honest opinion.
"Jeff, you have brittle bones, she's made of metal," Mercy cringed at her own words even as she said them.
Joker bowed his head and fingered his drink. "Yeah, you're right. It's stupid."
She didn't like the faraway look that was returning to his eyes and was acutely away of how much she owed him: Her life, her support, her friendship; something that she felt the need to return. Right now. She swiped his drink away and Joker looked up in surprise.
"You deserve to be stupid," she reprimanded. "If you could be out on the dance floor would you be waving your arms? It sounds like you have bigger things to worry about than looking stupid."
Mercy watched his eyes shift over the dance floor and back at his drink her hand before finally resting on her eyes that bore into him, daring him to move forward.
"Yeah, I guess I do. Now if you'll excuse me-"
Mercy was on her way to the spectre office when she spotted Javik looking out over the presidium with narrowed eyes, his natural state when deep in thought. Remembering his email, she scooted up next to him without touching his shoulder. He didn't so much as glance sideways, but he always had a knack for recognizing others through what he described to be an electric energy that surrounded all beings.
"Hell of a view, isn't it?" She asked. They never started their conversations with 'hellos' or pleasantries and she liked it that way. Everything with him was always to the point, no sugar coating or underhanded meanings. It was a breath of fresh air from councilors, politicians, and panhandling merchants withholding supplies she desperately needed.
True to his character, Javik launched his thoughts at her as though his internal processes had simply switched to verbal. "The Citadel was both the heart of our civilization and its demise. No one I knew had ever seen the Citadel. To be here now...I don't know what to think."
Mercy remembered Javik telling her the Citadel had been taken long before he was born. There was always a wishful look in his alien eyes that told her he had always wanted to see it in his civilizations glory days.
She knew exactly what he should think. "It might not seem like much but a prothean is standing here, alive. That's a victory in itself."
"Perhaps." He began telling stories had heard of the Citadel during his own time and Mercy soaked in the child-like wonder in his voice. It had been a long time since she had heard any such fantastical stories that spoke of better times and places that were untouchable except with the imagination.
"Pardon me. This one expects you are a prothean."
Mercy and Javik swiveled around at the echoing voice and she inwardly groaned at the undulating hanar that towered above them.
Javik approached the jelly-like alien and Mercy wondered for a moment if she shouldn't distract her prothean and drag him away to meet Joker in Purgatory. The hanar were easily offended and Javik wasn't the most subtle character. The last thing she wanted was a political incident.
Javik took a step back, removing his hand from the hanar's head. "I remember when your kind were still minnows in the ocean."
Mercy joined the conversation, as amused by the situation as she was cautious, and provided an informative yet warning statement to Javik. "They consider your kind to be their gods."
He glanced at her then back at the hanar. "A pity we did not teach them to speak better." So he wasn't going to follow her advice, just her luck. Either that or he really was just that socially inadequate.
An asari and turian broke away from a crowd around a couple of C-sec officers; they had no doubt overheard the hanar that was literally vibrating with joy, and began questioning Javik with nervous gestures.
"For many there may be no hope-" Mercy cringed the same time the eavesdroppers lowered their heads with looks of despair.
Javik was ramping up to tell one of his vivid descriptions of his people's war with the reapers that was really a slaughter, and Mercy caught his shoulder when he paced by her.
"Uh, Javik, I don't think that's going to work." With her guiding eyes Javik finally realized the negative effect he was exuding.
"-but you are still alive now, and that is a miracle."
Mercy listened to his inspirational words and was amazed how well he switched gears. Honestly, it was the most positive speech she had ever heard him give and found her own hopes rising. She sometimes forgot he used to be a commander himself.
"Commander Shepard. It must be an honor to have a prothean fighting alongside you." Mercy was amidst her own thoughts on the war when the asari startled her.
"I'm just glad he's on our side," Mercy told her, throwing a mischievous grin at Javik. She did enjoy having him around. In fact, he went on nearly every mission and was always right there covering her back. "You haven't seen him get angry."
Javik didn't miss a beat. "Neither have you commander."
Mercy felt heat rise in her face and a smile stretched her scars thin. It took all of her willpower to not burst out laughing.
Modifié par razviolet, 21 juillet 2012 - 06:39 .
Mindblowing 
Retour en haut
More coming soon!
.
