[ooc] somarium application

[flanging]

[Player name] Mart
[Age] 23
[Personal Journal] riyuji
[Other characters currently played]
» Rise Kujikawa | Persona 4 | popstar
» Kyou Sohma | Fruits Basket | cursebound
» Daisukenojo "Beat" Bito | The World Ends With You | likearhino
» Jake Jensen | The Losers | angleofthedangle

[Character name] Garrus Vakarian
[Age] early 30's
[Canon] Mass Effect
[Point in time taken from canon] Post-suicide mission in Mass Effect 2

[Background]

» Mass Effect Plot
» Mass Effect 2 Plot
» Garrus's involvement in Mass Effect 1
» Garrus's involvement in Mass Effect 2

So far in The Adventures of Shepard and Friends, Shepard has:
» Spared the Rachni Queen
» Saved Wrex
» Saved Kaidan on Virmire
» Saved the Council from Sovereign
» Warned Sidonis about Garrus, thus sparing him
» Saved everyone of the Normandy's crew from the Collectors
» Destroyed the Collector ship
» Is clearly a paragon

[Personality]

tl;dr He's not so secretly Batman. In space. Without the mountains of cash. Garrus is the Batman of space, Batman is the Garrus of earth.

Okay, long version:

"When a good turian hears a bad order, he follows it. He might complain but he knows his place."

Garrus himself says that he doesn't think he's a very good turian. He does know his place and would never speak out of line when it comes to serious matters but he is still willing to voice out his opinion instead of swallowing his words and keeping quiet when it really counts. He may have some extreme opinions on some things but to him, there's no point in shutting up when there's too much at stake which in this case is the entire galaxy. Can't really raise the stakes any higher, can you? He doesn't conform to normal turian conventions and standards and that's what makes him unique.

This also makes him quite open-minded. He isn't callous about what people tell him and he doesn't immediately dismiss the opinions of whoever he is speaking to even if he does disagree with the discussion at hand. He may sit and stew in his own thoughts for a while but never does he outright shut down something that is said to him.

“It's so much easier to see the world in black and white... Gray? I don't know what to do with gray...”

Due to the mandatory military training he had undergone and from being a C-Sec investigator, Garrus sees the universe in black and white. To him there is no gray area in-between the two. No "what ifs", no maybes — only right and wrong. This may be the reason he leaves C-Sec and discontinues his Spectre training as well. He was sick of dealing with the politics and the red tape that came with the job and decided it was probably best to take matters into his own hands. If someone were to do harm to another, that would warrant them a punishment fitting the crime — an eye for an eye, a life for a life. At least that's what Garrus used to think.

Working with Shepard in trying to stop Saren, the Collectors and the Reapers, and seeing his commanding officer's actions helped him realize that the gray area actually exists. This especially shines true when Shepard decides to stop him from incapacitating Harkin, the racketeer known as "Fade", and blocking his sniper scope from making a clear shot at Sidonis, the man who sold out his team in Omega. During these times, Garrus seemed irritated with Shepard's actions but eventually realizes why his commander stopped him from making a mistake he would regret in the future. Shepard taught him that there are better ways of handling situations while remaining objective and professional. This remains to be one of the biggest lessons Garrus learned from his friend and mentor. Although he may still not know how to handle matters that fall into the gray area, he at least acknowledges it and tries to put things into better perspective instead of simply pulling out his gun and letting it do all the talking.

The Shadow Broker's dossier on the turian states:

"Leadership potential overshadowed by Shepard. Unlikely to fully develop under Shepard's command."

Despite being used to acting beneath someone else, whether it be in C-Sec or Commander Shepard, Garrus actually has some underdeveloped leadership qualities. After the destruction of the first Normandy, we're able to see a glimpse of that potential during his time in Omega. Then, all he had wanted was to be rid of the scum that plagued the streets of Omega. That cause together with his natural charisma led others towards him as many of them had lost someone due to the shady dealings by the space station's big name merc groups. They admired the work he had done and had wanted to help him as well. Never did he seek anyone of them out. Each one came to him by their own will. Eventually he manned a team of twelve with him, the Archangel, as their leader.

At some point during his time as their leader, he carved the name of his eleven squad mates onto the frame of his visor. "Erash, Monteague, Mierin, Grundan Krul, Melanis, Ripper, Sensat, Vortash, Butler, Weaver, Sidonis." This goes to show how much he valued every individual on his squad and trusted each one of them, which continues to prove just how loyal he was, even is he was in a higher position than any of them.

"You humans have a saying. An eye for an eye, a life for a life. He owes me ten lives and I plan to collect."

The legacy of his team is short-lived though when one of his own men, Sidonis, betrays him and sells out the entire team as he makes his escape. Garrus's loyalty to the people he trusts is quite clear after this incident. He felt responsible for his squad's deaths and took it upon himself to wipe clean the red on his ledger. He makes it a point to find Sidonis and, as the quote states, to collect the man's dues. Sidonis' name is subsequently burned off his visor.

This isn't the only time when Garrus proves himself to be fiercely loyal. When Shepard comes to recruit him after appearing dead for two years, Garrus is able to drop everything, leaving the vigilante life of Omega just to fight alongside his friend once more. And to kick Collector ass. Without Garrus, Shepard wouldn't be able to save the galaxy as stylishly.

Garrus isn't all serious though. He is never without with a wisecrack or a witty comment, whether he's trying to make a playful jab at someone or if he's simply trying to lighten the mood. He even makes jokes at his own expense, at one point kidding around that despite the injuries he had sustained from a missile to the face there were still women out there who found scars attractive — even if most of those women are krogan. If the male Shepard is chosen, he continues to say that it was about time he gave Shepard a chance with the women anyway.

"Scoped and dropped!"

The turian is also rather cocky, acting as if he really is some hotshot sniper. Which is actually true and man, does he know it. He is very sure of his abilities and is able to prove his worth on the battlefield, taking out opponents left and right with the help of his sniper rifle. He's a stubborn bastard, being able to camp in one spot for long periods of time, and being able to continue running for days with the help of stims (stimulators).

He may be confident, but he's never too overconfident. Garrus knows the value of respecting his opponent's capabilities. Overconfidence will always backfire and could lead to bad interpretations that could cost you your target or your life. He tries to adapt to the situation much like an actual sniper adapting to the change in wind direction, the strength of the gust and other important factors when scoping a shot. Hey, look at that, he can actually apply his sniper training to other situations.

"It seems like Garrus has finally worked that stick out of his butt, but now he's trying to beat guys to death with it."

Garrus has also grown a lot in the two years between the two games and this quote from Joker probably sums the transition up very well. He was once naive about other species even if had worked in the Citadel which in itself is considered a melting pot. In the first game, he made a jab at Tali'zorah by blaming the creation of the geth, a sentient synthetic alien species, on her entire race. Though it is a fact that the quarians built the geth, it was clear that he had overstepped his bounds back then. Serving on the Normandy, surrounded by a handful of other species on SR1 and an even moreso on the SR2 has learned to make him more tolerant of them. It's also worth noting that should Garrus be in a relationship with female Shepard in the second game, he comments that he even researched on human customs, not wanting to offend her in any way.

The turian may have lightened up a little since he was last seen by the crew of the Normandy but that stick up his ass that he now uses as a figurative weapon could probably be attributed to his anger in Sidonis' betrayal. It's been shown that Garrus is the type to hold a grudge during extreme circumstances and it wouldn't be a surprise if Sidonis was the number one guy he had wanted revenge on.

He's a consistent character throughout the series and he continues to grow little by little by following Shepard's example. His CO has taught him so many things, and what first started as admiration slowly turned into trust. There's no doubt that Garrus is willing to lay his life on his line for Shepard knowing that they would do the same for him. He values Shepard both as a higher ranking officer and as a very good friend. There is nothing in the galaxy that would stop him from following Shepard to hell and back, time and time again.

tl;dr Garrus could actually be Robin disguised as Batman.

[Abilities]

» Full list of Garrus's abilities from Mass Effect
» Full list of Garrus's abilities from Mass Effect 2

Garrus was a former C-sec officer in the investigations division back in the Citadel. His work was an investigator was quite exemplary that he even offered the chance to become a Spectre some time before meeting Shepard. One thing that makes Garrus good at his job is because when Garrus digs, he will dig and he will not stop until he finds exactly what he is looking for. (Which makes him less of a bird and more like a dog when you think about it like that. INTERESTING TIDBIT: Turian physiology is based on predatory avians. Some say raptors.) When Saren's Spectre status hampered his investigation, he quit C-Sec and immediately teamed up with Shepard to track down and take down the renegade turian.

His military training has made him quite adept at all types of firearms but he is most proficient with assault rifles and sniper rifles. He's a very good shot, especially when it comes to ranged attacks. He's also mentioned that he had been ranked as one of the top hand-to-hand combatants in the past, saying that he had reach. Clearly he needs to work on his flexibility a bit more. If he's got that down, nothing can stop him.

The dossier from the Illusive Man stated that Garrus (Archangel at the time) was a tactical genius and infiltrator and proved to be quite the formidable ally in Shepard's mission of rid the galaxy of the Collectors. Garrus is able to read his surroundings and positions himself where he could get the best advantage over his enemies. Even in Omega, he used the bridge leading to the apartment he had holed himself in to funnel the mercenaries one by one into his scope and line of fire, never once leaving his spot.

[Other important stuff]

Calibrations.

[Sample post]

first person;;

If you could go back home, would you? Why or why not?

I have unfinished business back in my world. [A pause.] My galaxy. The Reaper threat isn't going to get rid of itself. The rest of the Normandy may be able to take care of it but I'm not letting them have all the fun.

Murder. What is your opinion?

It isn't right without good reason. [His fists clench as if he recalls an uncomfortable memory. But he is able to gather his composure as he continues speaking.] If someone kills another just for the fun of it, they better be ready to pay the price.

You are suddenly told you are the child of an ancient prophecy to save the world. How do you feel? Will you embark on your journey? Or would you rather shove it onto someone else and run away? Explain.

[Garrus doesn't even allow the speaker to finish the question, raising a hand just after hearing "to save the world."]

You've probably mistaken me for Shepard. We've both been saving the galaxy but I don't exactly have the qualifications to fulfill any sort of ancient prophecy.

You are forced onto the dance floor and you MUST dance or the most important person or thing will be destroyed. What do you end up dancing and to what music?

The Reapers have really developed an odd sense of humor over the past two years, haven't they?

[His mandibles flare as he shakes his head. In amusement, in disgust? Who knows.]

I may have to pass. I'm honestly no better than Shepard at this sort of thing. Besides, I don't think the galaxy is ready to see me [A cough into his hand.] groove to the music.

Would you consider yourself a well traveled person? If so, what are some of your favorite places? If not, would you want to travel or is there some place you want to go?

Sure. Not that getting around is hard, especially with the help of the relays. Besides the humans, every other species has been using it for centuries.

You are a given a mission. Would you complete it effectively or would you goof off and do something else? Expand a little on the response.

I may not be the most disciplined turian around but if something needs to get done, it's best to finish the job as soon as possible. Now—

[He gets up from his chair, sliding it back beneath the table.]

Are we done here? I have some calibrations I need to take care of.

third person;;

It felt odd walking around a planet without any real purpose. Without a mission to accomplish, without a lead to follow, without any real goal. No Reapers, no Collectors.

Nothing.

He didn't like it.

It was bad enough that he usually got restless during shore-leave, unsure what to do with himself when he had only so much free time. This, on the other hand... his time here was endless, at least until he finally decides to wake up from his sleep. He didn't know what to do with endless free time. The last time he had experienced had probably been before he had started his military training in Palaven.

It was a foreign feeling. Very foreign.

It didn't help that everything he had encountered in the few days that he had been in Hypnosia made him realize just how primitive the civilization of the planet was. They hadn't even invented space cars yet. Everything ran on wheels, much like the ones he had seen in documentary vids from what felt like centuries ago.

The skyskrapers at least felt somewhat familiar but what interested him was the village located in the center of the entire city. If he thought that the city proper had seemed primitive enough, the village even more so.

Upon his arrival, he was greeted by odd men on sticks, nothing like the dragon's teeth they had seen on the Derelict Reaper. Whatever they were, they stared at him, creaking slightly from where they stood as he crossed the green expanse before him. It was a good thing they hadn't chosen to attack the alien. One wrong move and they would've been reduced to mere pieces of straw.

There wasn't much to see in the village. It was much like what he had learned from the city. Just more things that he had only seen in vids.

But his interest is finally piqued when he had heard the word chicken being tossed around in a nearby farm. Garrus had watched as a child threw some chicken feed around the white feathered creatures, slowly approaching the surrounding wooden fence. His presence may have spooked the child who had ran back into his home upon seeing the alien walk towards him. You'd think almost every human child would've seen a turain by now but that definitely didn't seem to be the case. Nevertheless, it didn't seem to bother him all too much as he stared at the creature called a chicken once more.

"You're what tastes like everything in the galaxy?" He didn't expect an answer to come from the creature but he still felt inclined to voice it out anyway.

The fowl didn't take much notice of him, and instead chose to keep its attention trained on the chicken feed that the rest of the coop had failed finish earlier.

Garrus leaned against the fence that surrounded the coop, looking at the chicken for a moment longer before he raised an arm to scratch the scarred side of his face. "Well, this is rather underwhelming. I actually expected it to be larger."

[Why do you want to play this character in Somarium?] Because Garrus and Alistair need to meet. And I needed to play this dextrosaur. Also this is fulfilling the "police" part of the bargain with Lae. Sorta. Former police C-Sec still fits the bill, all right?
[Which rule was your favorite and why?] No playercest. Because it's dumb.
[Any questions?] Okay, so Garrus is a turain which means he's a dextro-amino acid based alien. Basically—

Although life on Palaven is carbon-based and oxygen-breathing, it is built on dextro-amino acids. This places the turians in a distinct minority on the galactic stage; the quarians are the only other sapient dextro-protein race. The food of humans, asari, or salarians (who evolved in levo-amino acid-based biospheres), will at best pass through turian systems without providing any nutrition. At worst, it will trigger an allergic reaction that can be fatal if not immediately treated.

— that. How should I handle Garrus food intake? Will dextro-animo food be available somewhere?