#artemis shepard

[madautumn]

[lulii999]

Everytime I tell myself I’m done drawing space armor, the urge to draw these two strikes again!

[messydiabolical]

Shalibrations sketch for @yellingaboutmasseffect Garrus x Tali x Artemis sharing a cute selfie moment on Tali's omni-tool <3

[makokind]

another ☝️ shepard bc i said so

[loveofnerdsndonuts]

“Well, when things are looking grim- which I’m pretty sure they will- just remember, we’re in this together”

Made some new artwork for my FemShep and Garrus 

[musicfeedsmysoul12]

So here is part of the WIP for the Mass Effect Novelisation that is subject to change as this is a bit older and things may change

Garrus blinked, staring at Shepard as she held the bottle of alcohol in her hand.

“Commander?” He asked cautiously. She looked up, startled.

“Oh, Garrus.” She said, before stopping. “... I’m drunk.” She said it matter of factly and a bit startled.

“I can tell.” He said, going to stand by the open door to the Mako. “Hiding from the others?”

“... he was with the bomb.” She said. “Alen… Kaidan. He was with the bomb and we needed it to go off.” Garrus nodded slowly, eyes watching her as she went back to staring at the bottle.

“I know. You made the right choice Commander.” She blinked and then hummed, still staring.

“I killed my brother.” She said. It was random, and Garrus wasn’t sure what she meant until she continued. “He was taken when slavers attacked Mindoir and I joined the military to find him. Did. Torfan was… not good.”

“Torfan… the one where…”

“I got my name? Yeah. Butcher of Torfan. All cause I lost control and went… crazy.” She made a motion. “Found my brother in the pens. Half alive, bleeding out. Had to shoot him to make it quick. Lost it after that. Just… boom.” She made a motion with her hand. “Crazy.”

“You’re not crazy Shepard.” He told her. She snorted.

“Was then. I butchered ever single Bartarian there but Balak. Heard he’d escaped right before I got him.” Garrus stopped.

“Balak? The…”

“The Bartarian I almost killed a bunch of fucking scientists so I could kill him? Yep!” Shepard smiled, all sharp teeth and angry eyes. “I hold a mean grudge Garrus.” She looked at the bottle again. “... I am also an alcoholic. Started after Torfan. Shaved all my hair off and started drinking. Didn’t stop. Just kept going. Anderson… Anderson slapped me across the face and told me to get clean when I was… N6 training.” Shepard shrugged. “Mostly did. I stopped drinking so much but still… it took him dragging me to talk to Rabbi Thomas to force me to actually like… get help.”

Garrus waited, leaning against the Mako, for her to continue. Shepard seemed conflicted.

“I… I smoke now. Not good either but it helps. But when we started drinking to his memory I… I fuck…” she closed her eyes, and then in a quick movement Garrus almost missed she threw the bottle against the wall and it smashed. She was breathing heavily, shoulders shaking. “Kaidan deserves more then to be my excuse to fucking drink again.” She wiped her mouth with the back of her hand and drew in a shaky breath. “Do Turians cry?”

“No. We don’t have tear ducts.” He said. She nodded.

“... you’re not allowed to tell anyone.” She told him and then she began crying. She pulled her legs up to her chest and just cried. Garrus awkwardly stood there, waiting, until he reached out to gently pat her shoulder, sitting down next to her.

[grimdoch]

POV you bumped into shepard's clone and scared him

[yellingaboutmasseffect]

Artemis Shepard for @spookyvalentine​ ‘s Shepard questions . Answers below the cut

1. Why did Shepard enlist? Any regrets?

Artemis enlisted because her grandfather, who took her in after her family was killed on Mindoir, fell when she was 17 and never recovered. He died shortly before she turned 18 and she enlisted so she would have income to keep her grandfather’s house and land in the Yukon instead of selling it.

There are definitely some regrets as she hasn’t even been back home to the place she did this for since she enlisted but there was always some mission that needed her…

2. How does your Shepard feel about having a yeoman assigned to them in 2? And in 3?

Shepard is polite but doesn’t reveal too much to Kelly because she doesn’t trust her not to tell TIM things but she does appreciate someone who can help with paperwork and emails.

With Samantha, Artemis likes her a lot and does what she can to help ease her into life on the Normandy despite how busy everything is. They bond over growing up on colonies and competitiveness when it comes to games. When Samantha shoots her shot, Artemis lets her down easy but they quickly slip back into friendship.

3. What’s their relationship with Anderson?

Artemis looks up to him a lot. Her life really changed for the better when she was assigned under him even if that’s something she didn’t realize at first. He’s her mentor and definitely the closest she has to family at the start of ME1 before that found family starts growing but I don’t think she really processes how important Anderson is to her until ME3.

4. Is your Shepard any good at poker?

To the dismay of everyone, yes.

5. How well does Shepard know their crew? Not just the companions, but the folks making up the Normandy

Artemis is polite and friendly to everyone so people don’t tend to catch on to that emotional repression that she has going on. As a result, while the other crew that make up the SR-1 Normandy would have good things to say about her they don’t really know her. That changes a bit with the SR-2 with Donnolley and Daniels and Lia’vael (a quarian she invites to join the crew) but especially during the course of ME3 since she’s really trying to be more open with people.

6. Initial reaction to EDI? Does it change?

I feel my Shepard always treated EDI with respect but she’s not in the best place mentally at the start of ME2 so she is a bit curt with EDI in the early ME2 stuff I have written but she’s pretty short with everyone including Joker. From talking with Tali, she already had opinions about how fledgling AI shouldn’t be treated as disposable so she thanks EDI when she brings her insights and grows to trust her even more after an incident where she isn’t free of her shackles but still tries to help within the parameters she had. 

She fully supports EDI being unshackled and EDI growing as she explores what that freedom means to her.

7. Does their love interest move into their quarters?

Artemis and Kaidan never get to that point before he dies on Virmire as they were trying to follow the rules.

Garrus actually ended up moving into Artemis’s room before they started dating because they’re both a mess emotionally when she picks him up off Omega. After she has a bad panic attack and they have both of their good night sleep after he camps out in her room, Artemis invites him to move in, which he accepts. When they start dating he moves from the cot to the bed.

Artemis also invites Tali to move in with her and Garrus (who aren’t dating at that point) because she knows how Tali feels about Cerberus. Tali, however, gets flustered and refuses but does move in when she dates both of them.

Both Garrus and Tali immediately move back in once they are recruited in ME3.

Liara never moves into the room as she needs her equipment for Shadowbroker business at all hours. Artemis and her usually use her room when they spend time with just the two of them but sometimes, when things are especially tough, Liara goes up to Shepard’s room so she isn’t alone. While she’s not dating Garrus and Tali, they do have a strong metamour relationship.

8. What is their reaction to the Alchera mission? And after?

Artemis had trepidation about going to Alchera and put it off but thought it would clear her head when she went. While it provided some closure, it made her realize that she needed to go to Mindior to get closure before they did the run on the Collector Base.

9. What type of fighter is your shepard? Do they fight with honor, or do they fight dirty

Artemis is a versatile fighter good at long range with her sniper rifle or up close, often sneaking in for the final blow with her omniblade.

Shepard is not above fighting dirty as an infiltrator but she does honor any surrenders or honest attempts at negotiation. 

10. Does Shepard keep any pets? The hamster, fish, something else?

Artemis gets the fish with her room in me2 so she takes care of them but isn’t as attached to them as her hamster. She wanted a hamster as a kid and Garrus talked her into it. Garrus and Shepard build a large enclosure for Boo the hamster that is screwed into the wall. (Garrus doesn’t get it at all but it’s something she voiced actually wanting so he was quick to encourage it)

In ME3, Artemis pack bonds with Sophie the Fenris mech. It’s not uncommon to see Shepard make her rounds with the robot dog following her. Boo is also recovered shortly after she comes back on the Normandy and is spoiled to make up for his ordeal.

Post ME3 I feel she’d get a horse and a cat that’s really more Garrus’s cat.

11. What order does Shepard pick up companions in me2?

Jacob, Miranda, (Kai Leng but not as a full squadmate but someone she has to do Cerberus missions with), Zaeed, Garrus, Mordin, Grunt, Kasumi, Jack, Tali, Thane, and Samara

12. Does Shepard have any nicknames? What do they think of em?

Her grandfather called her Arti which made her bristle at first but she has fond memories of him and the nickname but it’s not one she tells other people to call her.

Beyond that, does Shepard count as a nickname? She went exclusively by her last name (only telling Kaidan, who she was dating at the time, and Ashely that they could call her by her first name in private moments) until ME2 when she started regretting putting up that distance between herself and people she trusted with her life. By ME3, she’s much more open with people using her first name but still uses her last name in the field.

13. How does your Shep react to teasing/ribbing?

She acts more flustered by the teasing than she actually is. She knows that the perception is that she tends to succeed at a lot of things so if they tease her about her dancing or her driving of the Mako, she’ll let them have it and can tease right back.

14. Any good at flirting?

Yes and no. As an infiltrator, she was trained in how to read people and adapt to interacting with them to get them to do what she wants. However, that does leave her awkward at flirting when she means it and she’s not sure they like her back. She’ll flirt and second guess herself and even if they like her back. 

In an established relationship she is pretty good but still a dork.

15. What colors does Shepard prefer for their armor?

She has the black with the red and white stripes on the arm but also has blue stripes down the front that match her eyeliner.

16. Is Shepard a drinker? History of other substances? Do they struggle with sobriety

Artemis got shitfaced as a young teen in an attempt to rile her grandfather up since she was convinced he was just pretending to be patient with her. The incident left her with a bad first impression of alcohol so she socially drinks but doesn’t seek it out. 

She did attempt to get drunk at the beginning of me2 as a maladaptive coping mechanism to what she was going through but found she couldn’t. Things probably would not have gone well if she was able to though…

17. How does Shepard react to attention? Do they enjoy it?

Her grandfather shielded her from the post Mindoir attention so she really only has the experience of attention from her military actions post Elysium. She takes it in stride but doesn’t really seek it out. 

She does enjoy it if it comes from someone that she finds interesting.

18. Who’s the dream team? Which companions does Shepard fight best with and why?

Tali, Garrus, and Ashley are probably the dream team for Artemis. I think they all know each other’s capabilities really well to the point where the combat would seem effortless.

Honorable mentions to Wrex, Liara, Thane, Miranda, Kasumi

19. Are there any companions your Shepard just absolutely cannot vibe with or relate to

I feel that would be Zaeed and Javik. For both of them, they end up with a healthy respect and what’s probably friendship but none of them would call it that by name. Post ME3 I think Javik and Artemis would get closer due to him being one of the Squadmates helping with her recovery because he can’t leave but he is the kind of the weird Cryptid Vegeta like person who is part of the family.

Since I listed Kai Leng as a pseudo squadmate above, he definitely counts. She hates him.

20. Does Shepard enjoy looking for resources and upgrading gear, or do they see it as a chore?

Upgrading gear is something she loves doing and enjoys getting gear or mods that people on her squad want or may like.

Scanning planets though? She has EDI take over that job because she finds it way too repetitive.

21. Do you have any AUs for your shepard?

Same Song Different Verse - Shepard never joined the Alliance and is a guide in the Yukon who comes across a stranded Spectre, Garrus Vakarian.

Also wrote some stuff for what if @seealandraw​ ‘s Clone Shepard somehow got punted off the Normandy and back at the start of the Reaper Invasion of Earth. Only he isn’t in his world but one where Artemis is the Shepard and he wants to kill her because he thinks she’s like the Renegade Shepard from his world, Miles Shepard.

There is also stuff I wrote down while I had inspiration but isn’t entirely fleshed out

I had an AU where Artemis is brought back without her memories and TIM decides to basically fill in those blanks with his beliefs and introduces her to Kai Leng. So when she goes to pick up Archangel on Omega, Garrus knows she’s completely off but decides to pretend he’s cool with it until he can find a way to help her remember herself.

I also started writing a little bit of a “What if Shepard did get indoctrinated by the incident with Arrival DLC but is only able to fight it long enough to turn herself into the alliance, then break out and be turned into the Harbinger of the Reaper Invasion leaving her friends and crew to fight the Reaper War and her” but that’s the bad end au so a bit hard to sit down to write XD

22. What’s the last thing Shepard ate before the final reaper showdown?

I feel with everything ramping up before Citadel DLC, Shepard’s partner stocked up on human snacks to ensure they could get something in her as she’s making preparations so probably some of that.

24. Who does Shepard turn to for advice? For comfort? Who do they like to gossip with

Advice: Joker (they both find this weird), Samara, Miranda later into me2, Kasumi when it comes to losing someone you loved

Comfort: Thane, Garrus, Tali, Liara, Ashley, Kaidan

Gossip: Mordin, Kasumi, Chakwas, James Vega, I haven’t written yet but I feel Khalisah would fall here too since I headcanon she’s the embedded reporter in ME3

25. How emotionally articulate is your Shepard? Do they emote well?

Artemis is able to read people really well but is pretty emotionally repressed herself but in the “friend who always listens to you and doesn’t really share much about herself” kind of way so it takes her friends a while to really catch on to that because she is expressive and listens.

26. Does your Shepard have a romance? Who are they, and what drew Shep to them?

Okay here we go.

I headcanon that Kaidan had been serving on the Normandy before the mission for Eden Prime so he was already friends with Joker and Artemis. She was drawn to Kaidan due to his steadiness and how kind he was. She also thought his deadpan delivery was hilarious. There is also this moment where Kaidan realizes that Artemis isn’t as well put together as he thought but he was willing to support her as she started to work through what she wanted for herself. They don’t get physically intimate or really official before Virmire happened but Artemis still considers it a significant relationship.

I don’t think anyone would have thought that Artemis and Garrus would have gotten together on the SR-1, least of all, Artemis or Garrus. She tells him off for taking the risky headshot in the clinic and even grounds him from missions for awhile for starting shit with Tali about her people while they were all trapped in an elevator. She pushes him to do better and challenges his worldview but Garrus responds to the fact she’s not dismissing his concerns just asking him to consider how what he does affects people. She likes the fact that Garrus does care a lot and how skilled he is which is why she takes the time to foster his potential. When he goes back to C-Sec after they save the Citadel, they keep in touch through messages as friends before she died. When Artemis finds him on Omega in ME2, they’re both a mess and really lean on each other. He’s also the first one on the ship to acknowledge the weird things about her from Cerberus bringing her back instead of ignoring it which makes her feel less like she’s crazy. Neither of them really saw it coming but they just settled into this rhythm with each other. 

Tali was smitten with Shepard immediately as she fit the image of the daring and charming space captain. It takes awhile for her to see past that initial idealized view but she’s the first on the squad after Kaidan to realize that Shepard is a person and not just this larger than life figure. While falling in love with Garrus was a slow thing, Artemis fell for Tali hard upon seeing her again on Haestrom or at least it felt like falling hard. It was the small moments that just came together like the way that Tali would call her out on her habit of putting the mission before herself, how Tali been the one to realize that someone should check on her after Virmire, or how Tali had also offered to take her away after realizing Artemis was freaked the fuck out on Freedom’s Progress. Artemis loves how feisty and brilliant Tali is but she also is drawn to how Tali seems to realize when she needs to be called out on things or needs someone to lean on despite the strong front she’s putting on. Artemis was also relieved when Garrus and Tali were not only open to being in a polyamorous relationship with her but also acted on their feelings for each other.

Liara falls for Shepard pretty hard during the Saren mission. There is a bit of spark there for Artemis as well as they talk a lot while Liara is recovering and getting her bearings on the ship about Liara’s work. Artemis likes that Liara is driven and goes for what she wants but does turn her down when Liara confesses because not only had she decided to pursue Kaidan but also she personally didn’t feel right pursuing something with someone the Council held her responsible for watching. Things are strained between them in ME2 when Artemis finds out that Liara gave her body to Cerberus AND didn’t contact her despite knowing she was alive. They reconcile throughout the events of the Lair of Shadowbroker and decide to get to know each other again. They exchange messages throughout ME2 and when Liara asks if they can try dating right before Shepard turns herself in. After some polyamorous negiotions, they date throughout me3.

27. Do they have any pet peeves?

When people underestimate her or think she isn’t capable of doing something. Which can be bad when people are just concerned about her. 

Jacob’s totally wrong people reading skills also drove her up a wall but she takes him on Zaeed’s loyalty mission to show him that she was right about her suspicions about Zaeed hiding something. Jacob trusts her instincts more and she teaches him how to read people better which helps when he is helping Cerberus defectors after me2.

28. What about hyperfixations? What’s the topic that will get Shepard rolling no matter the person or place

I feel she could go on for hours for sniper rifles and the tech she uses as she takes pride in it. If someone gets close enough to know to ask, she could probably talk about Earth animals native to the Yukon a lot.

29. How active is Shepard? Are they hitting the gym, playing sports, or do they prefer quieter downtime?

I feel Artemis does the gym stuff as necessary but would enjoy doing jogs or runs if she could do it outside. Since you can’t do that on a ship she does prefer hanging out with the squad mates or taking quiet time for herself.

She does enjoy sparring too.

30. What will always make them laugh?

I feel Garrus and Artemis know each other so well that he knows what to say to cheer her up.

31. Who can always make them laugh?

I am going to focus on the ones that are more surprising. 

I think people wouldn’t expect Joker but the two of them vibe because neither of them really cared about each other’s reputations. Thane is another person people might not expect but she enjoys his dry and weird sense of humor. Post ME3, there is a period of time Javik is helping with Shepard’s and I feel him being blunt about shit would probably get her to laugh with hospital staff, Alliance or council official visitors tip toeing around things.

32. What do they do when they have hit their limit angry, just incandescent with rage

Artemis spent a lot of time after Mindoir just angry and lashing out. As a result she tries to not get to that point, usually exhaling as she takes a moment to calm down. 

ME2 though fucks her up because the renegade scars are tied to negative emotions like anger. So a good portion of me2 has her really repressing her anger to avoid her face lighting up and splitting and she doesn’t trust anyone to look at it. It doesn’t end well. 

Slavers though get her incredibly angry as does the older brother from Overlord DLC. She only doesn’t kill the older brother because his younger brother was present but slavers don’t get that mercy.

33. What skills do they have that are a surprise to the people around them?

She can dance, she just can’t dance to future club music. Turn on cumbia and she can dance just fine and even lead. 

34. Got any tattoos?

She wanted tattoos and would have gotten some as part of her rebellious teenage phase if she had the chance. However, she never did but I feel during Citadel DLC she asks Jack to take her to get a tattoo and she gets a seashell on a beach for Mordin, Thane, and people she’s lost since she remembers this ocean from when she was dead…

35. Which companions have they lost? How do they cope with it?

Artemis lost Kaidan which was difficult because they had planned to start a relationship after going after Saren. Ashley really helped her through that.

Losing Mordin was hard but it was what he wanted so there was some solace there. Following it up with losing Thane to Kai Leng made it worse. She was very close to Thane and considered him one of her closest friends. Garrus was also close to Thane so they help each other through it.

Legion was also hard but Artemis questions if they’d consider themselves dead or living on through the Geth as part of their upgraded programming. They’re still gone but she considers it bittersweet.

36. Do they like to style their hair, wear makeup and jewelry? How do they feel about getting dressed up?

Since joining the Alliance, she’s kept her hair cut short for ease. She wears blue eyeliner as part of her commander persona but also is a bit of her infiltrator training coming through. While people know what the Commander Shepard looks like, in a pinch she could take off her eyeliner, part her hair differently, grab some clothes and slip into the crowd. For jewelry, she wears her dog tags but also a holo locket she keeps on the same chain.

She loves getting dressed up and doing her makeup for missions from when she was an infiltrator. Despite not doing solo work since being assigned under Anderson, she does love the opportunity when she gets the chance to get fancy. 

37. Got any bad habits?

Not asking for help when she needs it. She also doesn’t like doing paperwork at her desk which would be way more organized of an experience instead of doing that work in random places on the Normandy.

38. Does Shepard do any activities with the companions and crew during downtime?

Artemis hangs out with companions and crew when she’s not working. On the ME1, Tali introduces a hacking game from the flotilla that becomes a thing all the technical minded companions get really into (Wrex and Ash are too jock for it). She’ll also join in on card games with the crew.

39. Do they keep around any sentimental items?

Her big one is the holo locket she’s had since she was a kid. It has pictures of her family, her grandfather and she adds group photos of the Normandy teams. It’s also something she stims with by moving it along the chain it’s on. When she is told it wasn’t found with her body in me2 she was devastated. Liara returns it to her when they first meet on Ilium since it was found with her dog tags.

40. Does your Shepard actually like to collect model ships? If not, what do they display?

She does. In ME2, She finds an unopened model ship kit and finds that she really enjoys putting them together. Thus begins her collection. She is a weirdo and treats it like a puzzle instead of following the directions which takes longer but she enjoys challenges.

41. How is Shepard with a gun? What about hand to hand?

She is very good at both preferring sniper rifles or pistols for her guns and will utilize the omni-blade to end hand to hand confrontations.

42. Favorite weapon?

Her widow rifle. I headcanon that she does have a heavily modified one that that the Alliance pulled strings to get and make light enough for her to use me1. 

43. Which version of the Normandy do they like best?

SR-2 but she has good memories of the SR-1. She sometimes wishes that the area that was Kaidan’s work station area was something more private than a kitchen but he’d probably like that it isn’t somewhere she could have holed up in.

44. Do they like to rotate out companions for quests? Who do they bring the most?

Yes and probably Garrus over the course of the trilogy due to when you recruit certain squadmates.

45. Do they approve of curing the genophage?

Yes. Wrex makes Artemis more aware of the true nature of the genophage as something that doesn’t just cause birth rates to be lower but also causes stillbirths if pregnancy does occur. She does not consider the Dalatrass’s offer.

46. Does Shepard allow the rachni to live in me1?

Yes, after talking to Wrex about the Genophage, she is very much aware of the kind of power she is working for under the Council. She has no interest in killing an entire race and was happy when the asari passed on word in me2 that the Queen was doing alright and how they helped her.

47. Does Shepard practice any kind of self-care?

Artemis was so bad at this but gets slowly better at it through the course of the events of the trilogy.

48. What abilities do they rely on the most in a fight?

AI hacking, Disruptor Ammo, and her beloved tactical cloak.

49. What is Shepard’s happy ending? What’s the dream that keeps em going

She wants to go back home and retire with the people she loves. It felt nebulous and impossible but it’s the thing that drives her to keep going when things are at their worst during the Reaper War.

50. Is your Shepard indoctrinated

Well, she’s certainly not unscathed by all the Reaper stuff she’s been in contact with or the Collectors glowing while they’re pointing and shouting Harbinger’s propaganda….

(+1: what does Shepard smell like?)

I imagine she smells like the Normandy, gun oil, and her shampoo which I imagine would be a nice clean scent like fresh linen or bath and body works sea island cotton.

When she was on Earth or back on Mindoir, I imagine she smelled like sunshine and local plants (pine on Earth) from being outside so much.