#atticus asks

87 is, FINALLY NOT A TAYLOR SWIFT SONG, Circles by Post Malone!

I associate this with Isaac Gallagher & Zane Ross Juliet Chapman & Barney Stintson Nathaniel Drew & Spencer Reid Betty Sinclair & Conrad Fisher Atticus Spectre & Neal Caffrey

Another question from the list from yesterday! 

27. What makes you excited about their relationship?

I’m answering this one for Atticus Shepard and Jack!

This wasn’t a romance I’d planned to play through (at least, not yet). I’d intended for Atticus to romance Ashley. But he’d barely made it past Eden Prime before he started telling me that Ashley really wasn’t his type, and even though he had no idea who Jack was at that point, it was pretty clear that they’d go well together (eventually). 

I’ve gotten to the part of Atticus’ playthrough where he’s retrieved Jack from Purgatory but he hasn’t run down to chat with her yet. Neither Atticus nor Jack are particularly friendly people (especially not Jack), but they can bond over mayhem and biotics (Atticus is an adept). 

4. In developing their backstory, what elements of the world they live in played the most influential parts?

Well if you leave it open for all Sheppies, I’m gonna do it for all Sheppies XD

Sam - Sam is my first Shepard, so her background is the closest to what the game actually assigns. She’s largely been shaped by military life. Both her parents were in the alliance navy (her dad is retired, Hannah still active duty). David Anderson is a family friend who she knew growing up (although she didn’t know about his brief history with the Spectres or Saren) so she was personally invested even before her boots hit the ground on Eden Prime.

Saul - also a spacer kid, but by a more circuitous route than Sam. Saul was in contact with both parents growing up, but was raised by Hannah and his grandmother (Hannah’s mom, who is a rabbi). He never got along with his dad, who (loudly) disapproved of his goal to enlist. Saul did really well in school and could have gone far either in academia or industry but never gave up on wanting to be an N7 marine. Saul did not reconcile with his father before the Reaper war started.

Atticus - Atticus is a colonist. He lost his entire family in the raid on Mindoir except for his uncle, his mother’s brother, who took him in until he enlisted at 18. Atticus remained quietly angry, very driven in his military career, and an advocate for bolstering defenses for colonies. His reputation as a ruthless commander is only partially deserved. Getting assigned to Major Kyle’s unit wasn’t good for him. Kyle was good at inspiring loyalty and drive in his soldiers but prone to fanaticism even then, and since Torfan was a retaliation for the attack on Elysium, it was hard for Atticus to remain professional. Torfan saw him at his most reckless. Watching his fellow soldiers die around him strained his self-control, and when one of the batarian prisoners who had surrendered tried to stab him while being taken into custody, Atticus had a flashback to Mindoir and snapped. 

Atticus needed more counseling after Torfan than he got, but he kept his mouth shut about the flashback and let people believe he’d executed the prisoners rather than deal with any potential fallout from an admission that he’d lost control, and deep down he was glad they were dead. He’s made a promise to himself that he won’t lose more humans to batarian violence, which was the reason he let the terrorist on asteroid X57 go. 

"Why would I fuck my English teacher when I’ve got Valerie?"