As announcements of Scent of a Warden finally coming off hiatus go, we could do worse than to celebrate the custom scents that made this little business something special, and the player-created heroes that inspired them. Welcome to the Scent of a Warden Spotlight.
Ladies and gentlemen ... meet Karin Shepard. Character by ursulacousland, screenshot by same.
Spacer. War Hero. Infiltrator. Largely Paragon. Friendly, competent, proud and warm when it counts ... which predominantly means with her crew. Karin's a still water that runs deep, and commands loyalty predominantly through personal conviction and quiet confidence.
Karin's scent was described as "Cool, sturdy competence with a sharp edge" and consists of white musk, coriander and chestnut with aquatic notes. Chestnut is actually a clean, ozone-ish sort of scent when mixed right - the clean, sharp smell of autumn-turning-winter - and with the clean, mellow sweetness of white musk, the peaceful complex greenish scent of sea grass and the sharp, peppery coriander providing a little bit of bite, the general combination was meant to call to mind someone whose emotional walls matched her tactical cloak; whose cool professionalism and grace under fire could be pushed one way or the other - gentle or cutting, sweet or sharp - depending on the circumstances. That was most of what I took away from Karin Shepard.
So a toast to Karin Shepard. SOAW wants to know, though ... did she miss on purpose up on the Citadel, or did she let Garrus know who the real best shot is?
Shepard.. hey.. soo I've been doing some more.. uhh.. research. *he clears his throat* I found some things, and you know... I was thinking... maybe...
Just come see me when you aren't saving the galaxy. I promise I won't be calibrat.. calibrating things. Not tonight.
((apparently drunk garrus makes booty calls?? OMFG I'm so sorry.))
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♢
Shepard I've been waiting for the right time to say this, but I don't know if that will ever happen.
[line deleted]
Hey Shepard what's up
[line deleted]
Shepard I wanted to say thanks, for everything. There aren't many people who would stand by me after all that's happened. I owe you for helping me become what I am today.
I know you missed on purpose. I guess we can't all be like the great commander Shepard.
[line deleted]
At the Citadel, I know you missed on purpose. Not sure I should say anything, but I appreciate what you were trying to do. It's just like you Shepard.
Though, I meant what I said. You are good at lots of other things.
[message deleted]
*he shakes his head and puts down the data pad*
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♡
Shepard, I never told you this, but after they declared you dead, well, nothing was the same. A universe without Commander Shepard in it just felt wrong. Then you showed up on Omega, and well, we've had one hell of a run together.
After Palaven got hit, I had to believe I'd see you again. You're the most important person in the galaxy to me Karin, and I'll be damned if I let a few Reapers come between us.
I don't know how I got so lucky, but I'm glad I did.
((In response or in addendum to THIS post by karin shepard/ ask-admiral-anderson.))
The Citadel was a completely different place from what he remembered. He had left for Omega and hadn’t looked back. Now, the construction was completed, and all traces of Sovereign’s destruction had been wiped away completely. He doubted C-Sec had changed much, though. If anything the reconstruction just meant that now they could go back to the way things were.
Shepard was determined to see Anderson before anyone else. Of course when they opened the doors to his offices the council had already been in session. Anderson among them, who recognized him immediately. He made a brief gesture toward him, pointing to his face, apparently inquiring about the still fresh scars. A simple wave of recognition would have to do for now.
Meeting with the council went about as expected. It was the same bullshit as before, and Shepard, while trying to be her pragmatic self, was clearly seething. About as much as he was. The council hadn’t listened before, why were they expecting any help this time around? Just more bureaucracy and denial. Typical.
What wasn’t typical was when they accused Shepard of being a traitor. That she had sold out to Cerberus. That she was no longer welcome there. He about had it at that. If he hadn’t been done with this shit before, he definitely was now. The Collectors were the real threat, of course nobody believed them. He had been there on Ilos, he had seen what Sovereign did. So had they, but no, they had dismissed that claim. Whole colonies disappearing and all these bastards could concern themselves with was politics. Shepard had given the order that lead thousands of humans to their deaths just to protect this damn council. He could tell Shepard was thinking the same thing, she was clenching her fists, and that cold anger was in her eyes. However, it was Anderson who verbalized their thoughts.
It was Anderson who called them out, defended what Shepard had done for them, and what she could continue to do.
In the end they awarded Shepard back her Spectre status, under certain conditions of course. He was more than a little disappointed in Sparatus, the turian representative. He hoped he, at least, would recognize the sacrifice Shepard had made on their behalf. Turian politics at its finest. He shook his head. It was a hollow victory, and they all knew it.
After the council was dismissed Udina came in and had a few words with Anderson, but he could tell Shepard was growing more and more restless. Her jaw was clenched tightly and her hands were still balled into fists. Even the small scars on her face seemed to glow slightly. He couldn’t remember seeing her like that. Not even the council usually got to her like this. Clearly something else was bothering her.
She waived them off as she took some time to talk to Anderson alone. He kept a close eye on Shepard and Anderson while Mordin fiddled with his Omni tool. He hadn’t failed to notice that Shepard hadn’t brought any Cerberus representatives here. Not like that mattered in the council’s eyes, apparently.
As the conversation went on Shepard’s mood only became darker. Her shoulders slumped and the cracks in her face now seemed to radiate a crimson-orange light as she turned and walked back toward them. Clearly the conversation had not gone as planned.
She didn’t say a word, but just gave the signal to move on. There was clearly no warm welcome for any of them to be found on the Citadel, and the trip back to the Normandy was a quick one.
It wasn’t until they were in the airlock that Shepard seemed to let out a sigh, and he could see she was struggling to keep up her composure. He knew Shepard, and this wasn’t her. He couldn’t help but worry about her.
