David Shepard (MR)

"Awww, you guys are no fun!"

- A young David, when his friends decline to join in on his pranks

David Shepard is the second son of John Shepard and Ashley Williams.

Like his siblings, he grew up in a life of great privilege and affluence because of his relationship to his famous father. However, unlike his older brother Kaidan, David seems to relish in his upbringing and is often portrayed as somewhat of a troublemaker.

Early life
Born on the Citadel three years after his older brother Kaidan, David is the second child of retired Admiral John Shepard and his wife Captain Ashley Williams; they named him after the late Admiral David Edward Anderson in the hopes that he would someday live up to his namesake.

On one snowy morning, David and his siblings rushed to greet their mother who came home for shore leave, excitedly asking her to play with them.

The Scarlet Festival
Several years later, when classes at school were dismissed for the holiday, David and his brothers Kaidan and Ethan were seen taking a shuttle ride home with their friends from the Tayseri Ward. Upset about receiving detention again, a disappointed David complains while Ethan passes the time by trying to tell jokes. Back at home, David is scolded by his father upon the latter's learning of him pulling another one of his "pranks" on his teachers and is sent to his room.

Soon, he and his siblings are warmly greeted by their maternal grandmother. When the household receives a holo-vid from their mother, they were ecstatic to learn she was coming home for shore leave.

Personality and traits
"Maybe if you spent more time focusing on what's truly important in life and cease with your so-called 'innocent, victimless pranks', then maybe you wouldn't keep getting into so much trouble."

- Kaidan to David

David is characterized as boisterous, exuberant, selfish, stubborn, unorthodox and proud of his family name. For these reasons, David has a high opinion of himself and freely brags about it, but his arrogance often gets him in trouble with his peers. Though he responds best to competition and is not afraid to ask for assistance, David is relatively naïve, simple, and slow to understand principles or situations. He often requires an oversimplified analogy in order to grasp explanations, and can even forget some concepts if he is too emotional.

Despite his personality traits, David is fond of his family and gets angry when either of them are hurt physically or emotionally. He grew up in the shadow of his more mature and talented older brother, Kaidan, who was adored by the general populace. Although David found this annoying, he didn't allow it to blemish his high opinion of his brother. Overall, he does what he can to help his family. Although David loves his mother and is overjoyed when they spend time together, their relationship has been strained ever since Ashley assumed more responsibility in the Alliance military. As such, David expresses his disdain about the idea of carrying on the Williams family tradition as it only took his mother from him. Eventually, after being exposed to the complications of a soldier's life, David tones down his attitude and stops demanding his mother's time altogether.

Appearance
David has tan skin, dark chocolate brown hair, blue eyes and inherited both his mother's face and mouth. Like his brothers, he bears a striking resemblance to his father.

Appearances in other media

 * Mass Effect: A Hero's Legacy (First appearance)

Quotes

 * -|Spoken by David=

Mass Effect: A Hero's Legacy
Child: Adult:
 * (when irritated) "You do know who my dad is, right?!"
 * "This year is gonna be so much fun! Think about how many stunts I can pull off!"
 * (to his brother) [mockingly]: "Suuure, bro. I'll be a good boy and mind my manners. Nah! That depends on whoever decides to give me lip!"
 * -|Spoken about David=
 * -|Conversations

Trivia

 * He is named after Admiral David Anderson, his father's mentor.