Telling a story is a separate beast from game mechanics. While it's possible for everyone to survive the mission in-game, I tend to agree that it's more realistic that not everyone did. The perceived threat of character death is very powerful way to build tension. My favorite execution of this was in the Firefly movie. The rather sudden death of a character suddenly put everyone else's lives at risk- they were no longer protected by the magical "protagonist" label.
True. Garrus was my Wash. He was the first death (it takes two missiles to the face to take down the mighty turian) and I lost part of my soul to let it happen.
I don't fanfic, but I have a clear story set in my mind of what is my canon. That includes no Thane, no Jacob and no Garrus. Each has a specific reason to provide some emotional angst post-mission.
If you're doing it for story dynamics, I say go for it. I've read post-ME2 fics, and while I agree with you that it seems off that EVERYONE survives the mission, much of the time it feels like the author is using it as an excuse to not have to deal with characters they don't like. I see a lot of Jacob death, Zaeed death, Jack death... and yet, strangely, the turian who couldn't stay standing for five minutes in Mass 1 is always alive. Nobody offs Tali even though she is one of two characters who is suited for one of the most dangerous, mission-critical jobs in the game. :P
But you sound like you've reasoned out a purpose in their being gone. A Cerberus crew abruptly losing their Cerberus cell leader would probably be impacted pretty heavily. Grunt defies everyone's expectations and dies a hero's death. Samara... well, like you said. Samara. That you like these characters and have a plan beyond, "Ohp, they're dead! Well let's go get drinks on the Citadel!" assures me that their KIA status isn't some cheap plot device. I sez, do eet. ;
I actually read a post-ME2 fic in which Miranda, Garrus, and Tali were dead, true to what had happened in the author's game. It was very well-done and utterly heart-wrenching. (It was also from EDI's point of view, which made the emotional content that much more awesome.)
I like those "true to playthrough" fics, rare gems that they are, because generally the characters who die on your first run (before you rush off to the wiki to see who to pick "next time") are ones you really enjoy. My heart sank into my stomach when Legion bit the bullet on my first go, but in and of itself I probably won't be able to produce awesome fic about it. Legion are geth. Awesome geth, yes, but sort of removed from the other NPCs in their dimensionality.
Naturally my post was referring to the use the suicide mission to shamelessly ditch unpopular NPCs. There are plenty of amazing exceptions as you pointed out, but for all the good there is just a multitude of bad. :o
Oh, I know it. I know it well. It was more that your mention of Garrus and Tali specifically reminded me of this one fic. :)
My true-to-playthrough works involve everyone living, though. Managed to pull it off on the first try without a walkthrough, mostly because I was so annoyed with TIM that when he told me to go get the IFF I was like "I'll get it LATER I'm doing other stuff right now so go away". Annoying NPCs save lives, kids! XD
While I see both sides, my personal take on it is keeping everyone alive. I think the characters contribute much more as living entities than dead ones. (Unless someone's going for an angsty take on things where a character's death is a profound piece of a plot or responsible for sundry motivations, that kind of thing. But I don't write that sort of thing.)
"I think the characters contribute much more as living entities than dead ones"
Ooooh yes. That's definitely part of it.
I know a lot of people have characters that they disliked but I liked them all. (Yes, even Jacob. Love that guy.) There are too many situations (in my headcanon, of course) post-ME2 that I need Certain Character A to be there to contribute to.
Aye. All of them are so useful in their own way, and many still have stories left to tell. Granted, sometimes stories get cut short, but I've experienced enough "dramatic impact" in real life to last me a lifetime and I'd prefer to keep it out of my power fantasy... where applicable, of course. :)
I don't like milking death for aforementoned "dramatic impact." In my experience people don't handle it as tastefully as they should, but when someone does I can appreciate it.
I suppose I'm simply wary when it comes to this sort of thing.
(As far as individual Shepards go, my MainShep is competent and intuitive enough -- and anal retentive enough -- to get everyone out alive, but results for other Shepards are pending. Some of it relies on just who your Shepard is.)
I agree it'd be much more dramatic from a story-telling perspective, although whatever happens on my first playthrough gets cemented as head-canon, and everybody lived. I think that, like shesau said, as long as you're not using it as an excuse to off characters you don't like and have plans for long-term repercussions, it'd work.
Being the author of a femShep/Zaeed-centric fic in which Miranda, Jacob, and the entire Cerberus crew are all dead, yeah, I'd say I'm among the rare few who chose to make their post-game stories more involved. And yes, it's exactly how I played it in this particular Shep's game. In my head-canon, Shep was the one to off Miranda while Jacob and the crew were more or less bystanders that "had" to be eliminated in order for a certain plan to go into effect without Cerberus complications. Many have called it interesting, but I have received some naysayers about having such a "ruthless" Shepard. These are also the people who have failed to read the damn thing. Shepard isn't happy about what happened and expresses guilt fairly often. I'm enjoying the story I've crafted. It makes me want to customize other Sheps' playthroughs using character death. No malice meant to those who die (save for Miranda; she and I have serious beef); it's all in the interest of Seeing What Happens
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I don't fanfic, but I have a clear story set in my mind of what is my canon. That includes no Thane, no Jacob and no Garrus. Each has a specific reason to provide some emotional angst post-mission.
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But you sound like you've reasoned out a purpose in their being gone. A Cerberus crew abruptly losing their Cerberus cell leader would probably be impacted pretty heavily. Grunt defies everyone's expectations and dies a hero's death. Samara... well, like you said. Samara. That you like these characters and have a plan beyond, "Ohp, they're dead! Well let's go get drinks on the Citadel!" assures me that their KIA status isn't some cheap plot device. I sez, do eet. ;
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Naturally my post was referring to the use the suicide mission to shamelessly ditch unpopular NPCs. There are plenty of amazing exceptions as you pointed out, but for all the good there is just a multitude of bad. :o
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My true-to-playthrough works involve everyone living, though. Managed to pull it off on the first try without a walkthrough, mostly because I was so annoyed with TIM that when he told me to go get the IFF I was like "I'll get it LATER I'm doing other stuff right now so go away". Annoying NPCs save lives, kids! XD
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Ooooh yes. That's definitely part of it.
I know a lot of people have characters that they disliked but I liked them all. (Yes, even Jacob. Love that guy.) There are too many situations (in my headcanon, of course) post-ME2 that I need Certain Character A to be there to contribute to.
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I don't like milking death for aforementoned "dramatic impact." In my experience people don't handle it as tastefully as they should, but when someone does I can appreciate it.
I suppose I'm simply wary when it comes to this sort of thing.
(As far as individual Shepards go, my MainShep is competent and intuitive enough -- and anal retentive enough -- to get everyone out alive, but results for other Shepards are pending. Some of it relies on just who your Shepard is.)
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