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The Price We All Paid

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"Thought you were beside me -- but I reached, and you were gone."
-- Hymn for the Missing, Red.

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General
I'm alive!
A whole other genre for a change, haha.. I didn't know Sci-Fi could steal my heart like this, but XCOM 2 succeeded with ease. >w< Don't worry, I most certainly haven't stopped drawing dragons though!
Anyway, I tried something new! I like how the shading turned out, I think I may occasionally start swapping between this style and my other. There are some things that bother me though (the hands! also damn, that thick turtle armor has an anatomy of its own--) but overall I'm fairly content with the result.
(Download for HQ)


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Story behind the Drawing
Meet Magnus "Red" Nilsen, my Specialist / Combat Medic in XCOM 2! He's the very first soldier I've ever had, the only one from my original crew to survive; and out of all character that came and went, Nilsen has always remained my favorite.
Amidst all of the others, there were 4 other soldiers that really grew on me as well, and as they miraculously survived and grew stronger they soon began forming a team of epicness together with Nilsen. One of them in particular, Charles Jackson, was a fellow Specialist, and in my headcanon he and Nilsen became great friends over time. They were like best buds, one not the same without the other. My awesome team was born, and I loved them all to bits.
Always cooperating well, if they so happened to be in a mission together, they would pretty much always stand their ground. New recruits joined but occasionally died before reaching a valuable rank -- and meanwhile, these five badasses would continue to slaughter enemies, protect eachother, and keep my game on the rails. Nilsen in particular, actually, saved many lives -- including Jackson's, who would have his back in return.

And so it always went -- until I made a strategic mistake which cost me valuable time, allowing the enemy to fill the "impending doom meter" entirely while I was struggling to set things right. With the countdown ticking, I had one last chance to set things right; I had to attack a VERY heavily guarded facility. A mission harder than any I've had before.
But I believed I could do it. I had faith in my crew. And it all went well..

.. until Nilsen missed a crucial shot mid-mission, and the first death of an ally was imminent.
I was devastated to see one of my beloved characters die, but there was nothing I could do about it. Moreover, even though I tried my best to make up for this mistake, it set a chain reaction running -- and one soldier died after the other. I felt terrible, I'd really grown to care for these people a LOT.
Nilsen and Jackson ended up being the last ones standing. I briefly considered calling for evac, but it was all or nothing -- running would be an instant game over. And so it continued with the two of them. They actually made it pretty far, although it was only a matter of time before their luck ran out..
And Jackson was killed off by a critical hit, right in front of where Nilsen was standing. Right there while he was watching. And them being the great friends I had decided that they were.. Well, I could only imagine how the poor guy's heart would've sank at that moment. Worst of all, it was him who had missed that crucial shot back then, and had caused the battle to take this turn..
Just imagine. Just try to imagine all the overwhelming feels in such a situation. :c

I did, and.. I actually became so inspired by it, I decided to give it a place by making a drawing. I know the memorials don't actually look like this in game, but for the sake of the concept, I changed it a bit. Look -- I even drew Jackson's hat in the background. ;-; What you see here is no more than the result of a sole survivor losing all his comrades, and best friend, right in front of him..

.. Except, that's not actually how it ended.

He never got to see the memorials. After Jackson died, Nilsen, for the first time ever, panicked in-game. He was completely out of my control, and I could do nothing but watch as he solely shot a Muton -- the one that had previously slaughtered his friend -- and killed it. One way or another he dodged all of the returning fire, and was able to take down one more enemy before he was smashed, shot, and finally, killed as well.
So.. As much as I'd love to say he made it back to the base safely, he.. never got out of it alive, either. ;~;

My crew.. My Nilsen.. My precious crew and my precious Nilsen.. ;__;
.. I'm still not over the fact that this really actually happened.
Well, at least this drawing is finished now, so I'll be over there crying in a corner in case you need me.

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XCOM 2 (c) Firaxis Games
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© 2016 - 2024 Fixii
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bravo123456789's avatar

Han Solo Salute 's to the squad that fell to try and save humanity!