#happychica

[cr-noble-writes]

2023 Mass Effect Fic Recs

As we approach the end of the year, I want to shout out some really fantastic fics I've read this year. Some of them were posted this year, some of them were posted earlier, but I found them this year so they're going on the list.

Some of these deal with some pretty heavy issues, so mind the tags!

Natural Fissures by happychica

The necessities, the demands, and the endless pressure that is war finally crack the foundation that is Commander Shepard. Forced to face his demons, John is reminded once again that the people he fights for are willing to defend him, even from himself.

This fic is an ongoing longfic set during the ME3 timeline, and it is an absolutely incredible piece that follows not only Shepard, but the rest of the crew in their personal journeys alongside the crisis of The Reaper War.

Fugue by Swaps55

A few minutes more and they wouldn’t have even been on the ship. The Mako was scheduled and ready for drop, both of them suited up and ready with the final checklist completed.

A few minutes more, and they would have watched the Normandy burn from the surface of Alchera.

But they didn’t get those minutes.

Alchera, and the two year gap.  

Really, I recommend the entire Opus series, and everything related to it (really, anything that Swaps has written). Fugue is an absolutely beautiful depiction of the journey of grief and hope, and I honestly still don't have the words to express the things it made me feel.

Phoenix by mallaidhsomo

Shepard went down with his ship, only to wake two years later and find out the love of his life had gone down, too. Or so he thinks.

First off, I am an absolute sucker for Subject Zero!Kaidan. This fic is an incredible depiction of that, and I may be slightly just a little bit mildly in love with Sidney Shepard.

Descent by mallaidhsomo

Leo Shepard makes a promise to Ashley Williams that he intends to keep.

Or, relationships are complicated.

I adore Leo Shepard. I highly recommend reading all three posted parts of the Us Against The World series. The relationship building in this fic is just so good, and I have found my new favorite side character in Bolts the Drone.

An Unfortunately Sexy Man by missjlh

Jarun Tann is an obtuse fool. Unfortunately, he's an obtuse fool that Addison, Kandros and Kesh all have a crush on. The three of them get together to offer one another moral support through what is clearly the very worst thing to have happened thus far in Andromeda.

This fic is so god damn funny. I love it so much, and when I am having a particularly bad day, I go back and read it. It's such a well written comedic piece.

Volta by DanDenbo

At the outset of the war, Kaidan Alenko wonders about his path - whether to become a spectre, whether to rejoin the Normandy, and what to do about his feelings for Shepard. During a mission on Chalkhos, he finds his answers.

Non-binary Shepard/Kaidan battle couple. I feel like that honestly is enough of a recommendation. This is an incredibly well written piece. Shepard and Kaidan's relationship, and the complex nature of it, is just so well done.

Life Behind Enemy Lines by Otempora

The Illusive Man leaned back in his chair and steepled his fingers. “We humans have a saying. The enemy of my enemy is my friend.”

Shepherd was familiar with the phrase, but turians didn’t think that way.

---

Species swap AU, Human!Garrus/Turian!Shepard. ME2 retelling. Not a standalone.

I would kill and/or die for Shepherd and also for Gareth. An incredibly well done, intriguing, and captivating species swap. Shepherd is such a complex character, and she makes my heart hurt.

There are honestly a billion more fics I would recommend, but it would end up being the world's longest tumblr post, so I am gonna call it here for now.

Please enjoy!!

#fic recs #rec list #mass effect #happychica #swaps55 #mallaidhsomo #missjlh #dandenbo #otempora #cr noble shares

[theoriginalladya]

HUGE THANKS to @me1onmi1k for this commissioned piece of my Lachlan (Shepard) Berger with @happychica's John (Shepard) Smith in their ME/WWII crossover series, Romance & Resistance. The setting is Paris after they are reunited (during the German Occupation). Thank you so much! You did such a fabulous job of bringing our boys to life! They look AMAZING!

#commissioned art #me1onmi1k #Lachlan (Shepard) Berger #John (Shepard) Smith #ME/WWII crossover #happychica #Romance & Resistance

[illusivesoul]

People you'd like to get to know better

Was tagged by @likeyua @mxanigel and @marythegizka Thank you :)

I'll tag @ziskandra @thessiansunfish @messydiabolical and @happychica. Only if you feel like doing this, of course.

My answers to the below prompts are below the cut!

Three Ships

Last Song

Last Film

Currently Reading

Currently Craving

.

Three Ships

Also going to use the idea of an OC and canon list :)

OCs: Serena Brosca x Leliana

Manuel Rodriguez Shep x Cortez

Maiteh Lerras and Renata Barkas (da ocs)

Canon Characters: Leliana x Wynne

Aria x Jack

Blackwall x Ser Barris

Last Song: Nothing Matters - Dinner Party

Last Film: Avatar The Way of Water

Currently Reading: I Love You... But I Am Happy Without you - Jaime Jaramillo

Currently Craving: The cold. Summer is killing me lol.

#tag meme

[theheroofoakvale]

a gift commission for @happychica from @bardofheartdive 

#commission #mass effect #Javi Rivera Aragón #Scott Ryder

[bardofheartdive]

Writer vs OC

I was tagged by @vulpixelates to use this PicCrew to make me vs. the main character in the story I'm working on. I will tag (only if you want to play!) @alyssalenko, @happychica, and @ronqueesha.

Me (THEY HAD A SUSHI HAND!!!)

Javi | Mara | Wyatt

#bardic tags #about me #my oc #piccrew #javi rivera aragón #mara payne #wyatt bridgetschild #i gave us all sakura petals #because it seemed like a nice tie-together

[wrathbites]

Heads Up 7 Up

Tagged by @korblez to share 7 sentences, and would you look at that, I actually have something new!  Hehe.

Tagging: @tiny-banana-time, @dandenbo, @theoriginalladya, @shadoedseptmbr, @mrsd-writes, @cr-noble-writes, and @happychica, if any of you want to take part :)

It’s not a cafe so much as a crime scene, bits and pieces of armour strewn around as if someone went to town on a kid’s toy soldiers, bodies on the floor, cast aside on the tables, at impossible angles across the chairs, dropped limp and broken over the empty window frame.

And sitting cross-legged in the chaos, perched beside a sparking terminal: Shepard.

“You really don’t like Cerberus, huh?” Kaidan ventures, stepping over a cracked helmet with the visor pried clean off.

“Nope,” Shepard replies, mouth, chin, and throat stained with gore.  His hands, too.  “They’re bad for business and threatened my staff, so.  Peace wasn’t an option.”

#WrathWIPs #Rhys Shepard #yes this is indeed another vampire AU ft Commander Alenko #also completely separate to the ORIGINAL vampire AU ft Commander Alenko I already have in the works RIP lol

[swaps55]

Hey Swaps, i’m writing this from whatever levels of consciousness i’ve transcended to having read lichrally all of your works several times now 👁 🧘‍♀️💕

I can’t wait for whatever you have in store next, but in the meantime, any ficrecs for my ratchet mshenko idiots in love craving soul?

Aaaaaaaah, that's amazing!!! The LEAST I can do to reward you, since I cannot physically hand you a cookie, is to give you some recs!!

This is by no means a comprehensive list, and I know as soon as I post it I will remember half a dozen I should have included, but here are some mshenko fics that I love!

One-shots

Mako, by @pigeontheoneandonly. (This is one of my absolute favorite shorts)

The first time I saw Shepard die, the Mako fell over a cliff. 

Touching Bottom, by stone_in_focus. 1,916 words, Teen and up. Kaidan has a conversation with Samara.

Maybe this time around, you'll get it right.

Greenstick Fracture, by spicyshimmy. 6,250 words, General Audiences.

Post-ME3 space husbands. Shepard gets a chance to bond with a son he loves a hell of a lot more than he understands, and they both share some of the same scars. Also, Shepard wears dad plaid.

For a Single Yesterday, by @makoparkingonly. 5,826 words, General Audiences (Note: this fic is BEAUTIFUL, but it is not a Shepard Lives story)

“You have to be fine,” he says, but doesn’t put in the message. He sticks it in the outgoing queue. No hails from Shepard before they’d escaped the local cluster. No telling exactly what that wave of green energy had done, if there had even been any ships able to go back and look for him.

Not knowing anything is the most frustrating thing of all.

There’s no telling how long it’ll be before they’re connected to any kind of network again, if ever. Maybe he’ll die of old age on this planet while Shepard searches the galaxy for them. At least Shepard would have survived to search.

Trikalon, by @dandenbo, 1,146 words, Mature.

Kaidan takes care of what's underneath the armour.

Long Fics

Soldiers Heart, by Lemon. 72,182 words, Mature.

When the battle is over and the war is won, the soldier puts down his gun and returns to the life he had before; a life of peace and remembrance. But what happens to those who can't let go? Whose peace never comes and whose remembrance brings only pain and suffering?

Shepard struggles to regain his sense of personhood after years of constant warfare, his life irreparably damaged by what he saw and did. But all is not lost-- not when he has the strength to ask for help.

Heavy Fire, spicyshimmy. 58,955 words, Mature.

Earthborn Shepard never makes it into the Alliance. Merc life suits him just fine, as does teaming up with C-Sec officer Garrus Vakarian every now and then. And then he meets Lieutenant Kaidan Alenko, poster boy for doing things by the books. 

Alke, by @mallaidhsomo. 52,766 words, Explicit. (One chapter away from being complete!)

The Butcher of Torfan. Frankly, Eric Shepard liked the nickname.

A Crystal Hewn from Stone, by @happychica. 476,150 words (series), Explicit. (Note: I have not read all of this, but I know just how talented happychica is, and zero qualms recommending it)

Giorraíonn beirt bóthar - Two People Shorten A Road, by @theoriginalladya, 186,364 words (series), Mature.  

Stories involving the life of Commander Caleb Shepard. Earthborn. Sole Survivor. Infiltrator.

#fic recs #mshenko #swaps replies

[ao3feed-mshenko]

Physical Intimacy

by happychica

A collection of moments, ranging from sweet to sexy, inspired by various October prompt lists. All chapters tie into the A Crystal Hewn from Stone series.

Words: 1134, Chapters: 1/?, Language: English

Series: Part 9 of Curated Affection

Fandoms: Mass Effect Trilogy, Mass Effect - All Media Types

Rating: Explicit

Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply

Categories: F/F, M/M

Characters: Kaidan Alenko, Male Shepard (Mass Effect), Jack | Subject Zero, Tali'Zorah nar Rayya, Samantha Traynor

Relationships: Kaidan Alenko/Male Shepard, Jack | Subject Zero/Tali'Zorah nar Rayya, Jack | Subject Zero/Samantha Traynor

Additional Tags: Established Relationship, Canon Compliant, Destroy Ending (Mass Effect), Anal Sex, Clothed Sex, Flirting, Tuchanka (Mass Effect), Earth, Normandy-SR2, Dirty Talk, Sex Toys Under Clothing, mention of past dubcon, Blow Jobs

source https://archiveofourown.org/works/42066396

#MShenko #Kaidan Alenko/Male Shepard #Kaidan Alenko #Commander Shepard #Mass Effect #ao3feed

[urrone]

ten fandoms. ten characters. ten tags.

Tagged by @screwyouflightlieutenant​!

Tagging: @miniature-space-hamster​ @happychica​ @pigeontheoneandonly​ @survivethefeels​ @swaps55​ @ziegenkind094​ @liminal-zone​ @painterofhorizons​ @stumblingoverchaos​

1. Mass Effect - Garrus 2. Dragon Age - Varric Tethras 3. The X-Files - Dana Scully 4. Julie and the Phantoms - Luke 5. Lord of the Rings - Samwise Gamgee 6. Teen Wolf - Stiles 7. Star Trek - Spock 8. Star Wars - Jyn Erso 9. Stargate Atlantis - Rodney McKay 10. Once Upon a Time - Hook/Killian Jones

#meme

[ghostxofxartemis]

Top 5 songs on Repeat

Was tagged by @illusivesoul thank you friend, to share my top 5 songs I’ve been playing on repeat lately. 

Tagging, but not obligated to participate @elleweird, @happychica, @theoriginalladya, @dandenbo, @miniature-space-hamster, @screwyouflightlieutenant 

Way Down We Go by Kaleo (just so happens to be my alarm each morning and first song I hear in the car when I head to my Brazilian Jiu-jitsu classes)

The Traditions by Halsey (somehow gives me pre-me1 Reagan vibes)

Oh, These Monsters by Spelles

Scars by Boy Epic

The End by JPOLND

#the music game

[cr-noble-writes]

What made you ship Jack/Traynor?

This series of fics: A Crystal Hewn From Stone by happychica

Specifically, Natural Fissures, which was one of the first Mass Effect fics I read, and is amazing. I highly recommend.

#crnobleanswers #asks

[theoriginalladya]

All's Fair - Chapter 4: Quoting the Morning

All's Fair

Part of the Mass Effect/WWII series, Romance & Resistance, a collaborative series of fics featuring @happychica's John (Shepard) Smith and my Lachlan (Shepard) Berger.

Chapter 4: Quoting the Morning

Excerpt:

Lachlan stirred as John combed his fingers through that hair, which teetered on the edge of being too long.  Buried his nose against John’s chest before shifting to brush a kiss over his collarbone.  Tugging playfully at the thin white cotton of his nightshirt as a horse might search for more oats.

The morning ritual complete, sky blue eyes peered up at John, framed by lashes as pale as his hair was vibrant.  “Mornin’.”

“Morning,” John returned.  His hand continued its path, undeterred by the happy hum as Lachlan moved so that he could rest his chin on a bare forearm, returning John’s lazy smile.

“I know that look,” Lachlan said, voice sleep soft.  “What’s got you up and thinkin’ so early?”

“Just wondering if you love me,” John said.  He smiled at the look of sudden wakefulness in that so recently relaxed face and threw his man a bone.  “ For there are none of my uncle’s marks upon you. ”

Current Chapter || Read from Beginning || Read Series

#Romance & Resistance #John (Shepard) Smith #Lachlan (Shepard) Berger #Mass Effect/WWII crossover series #fluff #happychica #ladyamesindy #collaborative fanfic

[illusivesoul]

Last Line Meme

Was tagged by @jellydishes and @bogunicorn Thank you :) I'll tag @commander-krios @ishouldgay @cassandra-pentughasst @happychica @flaine1996 and @writes-in-space Only if you feel like doing this, of course. “Isn’t it beautiful, Bethany?” Leliana asked.

#tag meme

[guchaigue]

commission for @happychica 😊

#urdnot wrex #mass effect trilogy #mass effect #my art

[wrathbites]

Heads up 7 up

I was tagged by @dandenbo​ to share seven sentences (thank you!) so here we go!  Tagging @theoriginalladya, @shadoedseptmbr, @cr-noble-writes, @happychica, @ghostxofxartemis, and anyone else who wants to share 😄

"Repeat your last, Commander?"

"They're attempting to make vampires here, not cure the genophage.  Enemy krogan are extremely volatile, prone to acts of self-destruction and firing on their own number — keep your barrier up and head on a swivel, Alenko."

"And how does one deal with a krogan vampire, Commander?"  Oh, Kaidan doesn't like Kirrahe's tone, not one bit.  Judging by the lengthy pause over comms, neither does Shepard.

"Headshots, incendiary ammo, explosives, whatever firepower you've got... all of it."

#WrathWIPs #yes it be Virmire ouo

[hail-libertas]

Do you know any good mass effect fanfic?

To be honest the only mass effect fanfic I read is kaidan and Shep lol. So if you like them here’s some of my favs that are currently being worked on

In him he trusts by avaya

The choices we make by happychica

Anything mallaidhsomo writes

After the Crucible by urdnotflexthejedibard (you’ll need a lot of tissues for this one it’s super emotional lol)

Some that are done

Downtown Eastside by lemon_sprinkles (alternate verse and SO good)

Soldiers Heart verse by lemon_sprinkles (very heavy, read the tags before reading)

There’s also one more but I for the life of me cannot find it.

#mass effect #mshenko #fanfic recs