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seealandraw · 3 years

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What is your Shepard’s relationship with their crew?

i realize my hand writing isn't the easiest to read, so i'll transcribe it all (with a little more detail) beneath a cut. Also! Each game is their feelings by the climax/endgame, which matters big in me3's case since it's post-reveal that miles sabotaged the genophage and i feel like the crew outside of garrus and javik deserved to know lol

ahead of time i'll mention that when miles refers to someone as "good soldier" it means they trust that person's ability to carry themselves and in general it's a sign of respect. they're military at heart and their measure of worth is what they learned being basically raised by them post-mindoir lol miles has a very hard time with the concept of 'friends' due to their colonist/sole survivor status of losing people CONSTANTLY so it takes a lot for them to get around it

MASS EFFECT 1

Miles > Ashley: good soldier/has a crush and is confused by it?? respects her opinion Ashley > Miles: likes to shoot the shit with her cool commander that treats her like a person

Miles > Kaidan: good soldier/please don't hit on me i'm begging you Kaidan > Miles: crushing on/is intimidated by them

Miles > Liara: is put off by/does not like her digging into their brain Liara > Miles: crush/is desperate for their approval

Miles > Joker: no time for his tomfoolery but trusts him Joker > Miles: "what a stick in the mud"

Miles > Wrex: likes the professional distance/respects him immensely/friends with benefits Wrex > Miles: respects/likes to kill things along side them/friends with benefits

Miles > Tali: tries to be close with/feels the need to protect her/doesn't want her to die under their command. Tali > Miles: thinks they're super cool/admires them greatly

MASS EFFECT 2

Miles > Thane: they are IN LOVE!!! respects him as a person/wants to be a better person being near him Thane > Miles: he is IN LOVE!!! understands them/respects their actions despite not always agreeing with them

Miles > Mordin: respects opinion of/convinced the genophage was right thanks to him lol Mordin > Miles: interesting soldier/desperately in need of therapy

Miles > Samara: good soldier/respects her dedication to justice Samara > Miles: Were It Not For Her Oath She Would Have Slaughtered Them

Miles > Grunt: good soldier/a fine example of the krogan Grunt > Miles: respects as his krantt/revels in their violence

Miles > Legion: does not trust in the slightest Legion > Miles: no data available

Miles > Joker: relies on/good soldier/friends? Joker > Miles: wants to help them/thinks of them as a close friend

Miles > Tali: friends? cares deeply for her and wants to protect her Tali > Miles: friends! tries to follow in their footsteps and be a force for good in the galaxy

Miles > Jack: mutual hatred but respect Jack > Miles: mutual hatred but respect

Miles > Jacob: good soldier/thinks he's lost sight of his morals/confidants Jacob > Miles: greatly respects/is intimidated by/confidants

Miles > Miranda: distrusts/dislikes in general Miranda > Miles: dislikes/god they're hot thou

Miles > Kasumi: friends??? she should go to jail thou she's a criminal Kasumi > Miles: friends/thinks they're a hottie/loves to mess with them

MASS EFFECT 3

Miles > James: good soldier/out of his depth with the current mission James > Miles: doesn't know how to feel about them/lost a great respect for them with deception

Miles > Javik: good soldier/trusts him implicitly/hot bug man (they've fucked once)/confidants Javik > Miles: doing right by the galaxy/trusts them to achieve their goals of the reaper's defeat/confidants

Miles > EDI: doesn't trust but sees her as a valuable asset to the crew EDI > Miles: complex feelings to sort through/horror at their actions against the geth/krogan

Miles > Joker: trying to gain his trust again Joker > Miles: affronted by their actions/can't support them but can't hate them either

Miles > Tali: wants to earn her forgiveness/truly wishes to change in her eyes Tali > Miles: disgusted by their actions/wants nothing to do with/but can't stop loving them

Miles > Liara: still hates for the whole 'givng body to cerberus' thing lol Liara > Miles: horrified by their actions/still sees their value in the fight against the reapers, but nothing more than that

Miles > Steve: good man/good soldier Steve > Miles: doesn't know about sabotaging the genophage/ values them as a bright light in his life

Miles > Sam: pretty girl/too good for them/values her skillset Sam > Miles: doesn't know about sabotaging the genophage/has a small crush on them

#commander shepard #nonbinary shepard #themshep #art.txt #i drew sam and stebe just for this bc i wanted to include them

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joking611 · 4 years

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I love your depiction of the femshep/ liara ship. It just feels so right. I love the extensive detail of the asari lore as well that just leaves me fascinated. I have a few questions if you don't mind! Where did you get your concept for Asari bonding?? Especially the concept of the amheloh’na which i find the most fascinating and would like to know more about. What exactly does this state mean for Liara? Also, how many levels of bonding do you imagine? What constitutes a full bond as liara said?

Where do I begin? One of the ideas that I use in Cari’ssi’mi is that the language barrier between asari and human is larger than the real-time translation we “see” in game is greater than we suspect. I specifically call out that an asari’s working vocabulary is much greater than a human’s. Now, the fact that asari can communicate with other races via the meld helps overcome how difficult initial translation would have been without it. “Here, let me just show you what I mean.” That doesn’t help where asari have a word for something and humans or other races simply do not. This also allows me to handwave away how often even a romanced Liara refers to Shepard as a "friend” even when their relationship is more serious than that. Where that helps in relation to asari bonding is that I postulate that what humans call bonding are actually different things. Much if it is at least loosely drawn from canon. BioWare is notoriously long on concepts, and short on specifics, so most of it is just fill-in-the-blank. First, we have bonding for communication and the sharing of information. As melding is an innate ability in asari, the ability to meld may be present at birth, or even in utero. My story has Aethyta reassuring Shepard that she’ll know what she and Liara’s baby will need through the meld. We know that full communication is available later in the asari lifecycle. We see this in ME1 when Liara assists Shepard in deciphering the Prothean beacon, as well as in finding the Conduit. Again, this method of communication that allows the sharing of concepts without already knowing the other’s words much have been a huge benefit to translation. Second, we know of melding as it relates to asari reproduction (sex). This might be a post-pubescent ability, but we’re told that Morinth was diagnosed as an ardat-yakshi at 42. It is not clear how this was diagnosed, as 42 seems young for her to have been engaged in sexual melds. In any event, it is present in asari of maiden age, as we see with Liara at the age of 106. A potential mother is able to map the genetics of her partner, which leads one to believe that the connection between the partners is quite deep. Still, this melding is more of a transient nature, potentially not even requiring physical touch. The fandom seems to disagree about if maidens are mature enough to bear children, or only engage in sexual melds recreationally. Where I veer into the realm of headcanon is where I have the the terms meld, bond, and bondmate begin to intersect. Bondmate doesn’t seem to have relevance to the parent/child relationship. In ME1 we see Laira refer to Aeethyta as Benezia’s “partner” (although they were estranged, so “father” might have been a stretch).

In terms of romantic relationships, the games and other media seem to used bondmate as a synonym for spouse/wife/husband. Partners can be registered as bondmates with the asari government, there are bonding ceremony gowns and bracelets. Where I expand on the concept is the idea of melding between bondmates being able to lead to a more permanent connection. Bonding = a literal bond. Yes, bondmates do not need to have this perpetual connection, (and many would probably fear it), but partners could choose to enter into what I imagine is effectively a constant state of low level melding. I show some of the side effects of this in my story where Sarah is able to pick up on Liara’s mood or presence. Liara seemed unaware of this, but at the same time, as an asari, her mental barriers are no doubt more developed than Shepard’s. The extreme side effect is when Shepard dies, and their connection is severed without any kind of preparation, leading to the events in the first two chapters of Asunder. I don’t know that I’ll show any additional “levels” of bonding. I see it more of a “they are” or “they aren’t” bonded. Partners either have or have not established this permanence to their connection. With the severing of Liara’s bond to Shepard, and her becoming “amheloh’na”, she has undergone several biological changes. Some of these have been revealed; increases in biotic ability, strength, agitation, and impatience. Some we haven’t seen yet. I think some of these also explain Liara’s transition in personality and ability between ME1 and ME2. We’ll also see some of the negatives mitigated somewhat upon Sarah’s return. Did this help? Make sense? Even a little? I know this didn’t specifically answer your questions, but some of this information I’m still working into the story!

#cari'ssi'mi #shiara #femshep x liara #Liara T'Soni #bondmates #biotics #stupidly complex headcanon

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n7inky-fanfics · 3 years

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Aftermath pt. 9

CW: guilt, PTSD, trauma

Two days later, Hackett arrives at the hospital. Shepard has been sleeping through most of the day. She she is awake, she is either panicked or completely spaced out. Kaidan stays with her as much as he can, but it hurts to see her like this. Their friends offer to take turns sitting with Shepard so that he can eat, bathe, and sleep. He only gives in after Liara pushes the matter several times.

The dressing changes for her burns are hell. He's never heard her in so much pain, but he stays and talks to her. He tries to keep his voice as soothing and calm as possible. He talks about his family home. He talks about taking her to the Smithsonian to look at the old spacecraft there. He talks about finding new models they can build together. He talks about retiring and building a life with her. He hopes that it helps, but not much seems to be getting through to her.

Miranda and Dr. Chakwas both think that with time, Shepard will become more aware and come back to them. For now, she seems to be mostly trapped in her head. Kaidan finds himself wondering more and more what hell she endured after she left him on the Normandy. He wishes he had been there to help her.

Hackett checks in from time to time. Each time, he tries to get her to talk. Each time, she doesn't seem to know he's there. His eyes are sad when he looks at her. This time, he turns to Kaidan.

"Major Alenko, I want to know that I'm sorry we put so much of this on her. We saw how it was wearing her down, but we knew she was the only one who could truly pull it off. I regret that. She has been through so much."

Kaidan feels anger rise in his chest. He had been so loyal to the Alliance, too loyal to see where they were hurting people. Cerberus had started in the Alliance. They tortured and destroyed so many people. The Alliance abandoned Shepard when she died, leaving her body to the scavengers. They hid behind her to do their dirty work, and they punished her when it was done. They spent years not heeding her warnings, then thrust the responsibility of winning the impossible war she'd warned them of onto her. They used her, and they ruined her. Now, they want even more from her.

"You should be sorry. You all spent years backing her only when it benefited you immediately. She was loyal to you, to the galaxy. But where was your loyalty to her? Loyalty that she earned time and time again. If you had just done something when she first warned everyone maybe it wouldn't have been as bad as it was. The Alliance and the Council have blood on their hands. Her blood and the blood of millions. Now get out." The venom in his voice surprises him, but he doesn't care about the shock and pain in Hackett's face. He watches as Hackett silently leaves.

The worst part is, he knows that he did exactly what he accused Hackett of. He also abandoned her. He also didn't believe her, didn't listen to her. He didn't stand by her. Sure, he learned from those mistakes. However, he had still been a source of pain in her life. He was at fault as well.

#fanfic #f!shenko #female shepard #shenko #mass effect #bioware #kaidan alenko

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morganaseren · 3 years

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Hallo hallo. I wanted to ask you about Blackwall and Niahm's interactions, was she ever suspicious of blackwall? She travelled with her sister and Alistair, has it occured to her that blackwall might have been faking it?

Also loving the new Bethany/Niahm AUs. Just generally gushing on your work. I'll be on my way now, just dropping by to let you know how awesome you are.

Oh, hey! It’s you again! :D Welcome back!

Well, per Niamh’s canon Inquisition run, Blackwall was originally a part of her main party along with Dorian and Cole up until they reached Skyhold, so that’s a period of roughly... 4-6 months where she got to know him. I tend to headcanon the event’s of the game take up close to two years minimum to complete and the election of Divine Victoria takes place toward the very end of 9:42 Dragon.

Niamh’s not a Warden, of course, so she can’t sense that he doesn’t have the tainted blood so typical of them from the Joining. Upon their first meeting, she thought well of him. Blackwall was willing to help people despite the absolute chaos of the world around them, and so she respected that. However, it’s perhaps a bit of her own fondness toward the Order (due to both her sister and Alistair having been a part of it) that she doesn’t immediately sense that something seems off about his story regarding his whereabouts during the Blight and afterward.

I’ll go ahead and spoil you a bit and say that she she doesn’t suspect him until they get to the Winter Palace. There’s a bit of conversation you can eavesdrop on, where a drunken noble is talking to Blackwall and says that he knows him but can’t recall exactly how or when. Although Blackwall responds that he’s simply a Grey Warden, the noble is convinced that he recognized him elsewhere once upon a time but wanders off to get more wine all the same.

Following that, Niamh idly questions him about his thoughts regarding their evening so far and what must be done to secure Orlais’ future, and then she casually works in a question of how he received his Silverite Wings of Valor. Let’s just say more than a few alarm bells go off when he’s being especially evasive about any details regarding it.

As the events of the Winter Palace canonically occur for her after Adamant Fortress, she’s not exceedingly fond of the Grey Wardens right now because she feels they desecrated her sister’s memory with their actions. That she might have been lied to all that time by someone claiming to be a part of their Order doesn’t sit well with her either, so she waits to see if he might come clean about it, but when he doesn’t, her doubt swirls.

She ends up going to Leliana about her suspicions sometime before the whole reveal about Grand Duchess Florianne.

Although Leliana had also long been suspicious of Blackwall’s claims (there’s dialogue between her and an agent saying that there’s conflicting reports regarding his whereabouts during the Blight), since he and Niamh seemed to get along and wasn’t doing anything to harm/undermine her friend, she saw no reason to press further. Still, seeing how Niamh is clearly upset, Leliana promises to bait him with some information to lure him out.

...Honestly, it bothers me more than I can say that the game implied the Spymaster of the Inquisition wasn’t already aware that Blackwall was not who claimed to be and somehow managed to steal information off her desk (without her or her agents being aware of it) regarding the upcoming execution of one of his former men.

I swear, it’s like in the Mass Effect series, where everyone within Shepard’s inner circle knows that Liara is the Shadowbroker. Stop trying to imply they’re incompetent with their respective jobs, Bioware! D:<

...but I digress.

Anyway, the only reason I’m revealing this so early at all is because the scene in question is honestly such a small blip compared to everything else that occurs in the rest of that chapter. The one following immediately after that involves Blackwall’s trial, and Niamh’s not happy to say the least. :P

But, yeah, there you go. As we’ve learned in the latest chapter of OtSttCA, Niamh has more kindness within her than the world will ever give her credit for. As such, she tries to give people the benefit of the doubt, but the world has a way of casting such benevolence to the side... :’(

And I’m glad you’ve been enjoying these little AUs! They take my mind off the sadness that I have to inflict on Niamh. Lol. :P

#aseioh #OtSttCA scenes #kinda #lee's inbox #questions about OtSttCA

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theoriginalladya · 4 years

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Lonely Sunday Morning (fanfic)

So, a bit of a setup here: some 4-5 years ago maybe(?) I created Michaela Shepard to RP with @scarletthalloran‘s Kaidan Alenko. During that time, she introduced me to Levi Kreis’ songs. Several in particular stood out as really good Mass Effect inspiring, but Lonely Sunday Morning just spoke to me on another level altogether. Ever since then, I’ve been trying to finish a fic I started for her tied to that. Tonight, I finally finished it.

Here you are, my dear! I’m so sorry it took so long, but just know these two are always in my mind, and though short lived, I had a blast playing Michaela with your Kaidan! :) <3

(under cut for length)

Setting: Normandy post-Thessia

On AO3 here

~~~

Like a lion through the high grass of the savannah, exhaustion stalks her every move, and with each mission, every battle, it is only getting worse. If she feels anything, it is the weight of every minute, every hour, every day that passes since fleeing Earth and the Reaper attack. It doesn’t matter that it was for the good of the galaxy; it still hurts, and moving the entire process forward is a painful battle of its own, at times even against herself. She is drained; no doubt about it. Spent physically, emotionally, any and all ways a body, mind and spirit can be wrung out. But the missions come with such frequency and with very little of the precious downtime in between, she feels as if she is perpetually cracked, her life seeping out through the fissures.

The war is taking its toll on her crew as well. On her friends. Mistakes have been made. The risks are starting to outweigh the benefits, but what other choice is there? The fate of the galaxy is on the line and they, she, is the only one who can get them there. Winning is the only option; well, not the only, but failure certainly isn’t in the cards. Not if she has a say in it. At the very worst, they die trying, and if that is their destiny, at least they will leave better counsel in place for the next cycle.

Shepard’s towel slithers down her body to form a muddled heap at her feet. She chooses to ignore it and the many regulations drilled into her during basic so many years ago, instead opting to crawl straight beneath the sheets. Temptation is a dangerous thing, she recalls hearing somewhere. Right now, temptation wins out, though guilt tracks her quickly on its heels and attempts to gain traction … to no avail, the shower having taxed all remaining strength to push it away.

So close, she thinks as her head hits the pillow, tears finally forming as the truth wraps around her like a shroud. We were so damned close … and now we are even further away than before …

The dampness of her hair soaks the pillow and case, but she doesn’t care. Her eyes close, blessed sleep just within her grasp. To escape the failure, if only for a fleeting moment. She wants, needs, to recharge. To process. To find a way to cope so that she can charge forward tomorrow as they need her to …

Bedclothes drawn over her shoulders, the soothing light from the fish tank the only source of brightness in the room, reality smacks her in the face with the force of a krogan headbutt, and she shudders. Realization, even at this depth of exhaustion, is not kind; it doesn’t matter how tired she is, how badly her body wants to fade into unconsciousness, her brain is unwilling to accommodate her and will not shut off. Focusing on good times, envisioning familiar, friendly faces – none of that will help. Distraction comes in many forms, but right now, behind closed eyelids, all she sees are tactical plans, desperate fights for survival, and the face of defeat … behind a mask and a sword .... Like an old school horror film, it replays over and over and over …

A scream builds in her throat, the desire to yell and curse and blast anyone or thing close enough to her in this moment. She needs rest, dammit! If she’d only been a little faster, smarter, stronger on Thessia, they wouldn’t be in this situation. She cannot afford another mistake on that magnitude!

Biting back a half sob of frustration and anguish, she sits up and wraps her arms around her legs, dropping her forehead to rest on her knees. It’s too much. I can’t keep doing this. WHY WON’T YOU LET ME SLEEP???

The inner voices that often chide her during such times remain suspiciously silent this night. The replay of events on Thessia, however, do not.

Her chest aches, just the tiniest bloom near her heart, but it grows exponentially and spreads, its menacing tendrils burrowing deep. Her head starts to ache, beginning in her temples and slicing outward, searching for all of the most inconvenient and uncomfortable places …

This, however, she is prepared for. Without lifting her head, she extends her hand to the nightstand drawer and pulls it open. She fumbles a moment, eventually settling upon the small bottle of painkillers that the doctor provided weeks ago. The rattle from within assures her there are at least two left; it is enough. She pops them into her mouth and downs them without water. Enough is enough. Maybe this will help the other issue as well.

The bottle falls to the floor from nerveless fingers and she prays the relief comes quickly. It won’t last long, but if it can take the edge off, perhaps it will also allow her mind to be at ease and sneak stealthily past the images into unconsciousness …

Ten minutes past. Twenty. As the thirty minute mark comes and goes, a lone tear leaks from closed lids and trickles down her nose to drip silently into the sheets.

Opening her eyes, Shepard sits up, a sigh of frustration easing past her lips. She turns her attention to the tank, eyeing the creatures inside, desperately wishing for a way to escape reality for just five bloody minutes with no other care in the world. Just five damned minutes -- she isn’t greedy! -- to rest.

Rolling to her feet, she grabs the offensive towel out of spite; she could ignore it again but the risk of tripping in her current state outweighs any momentary rebelliousness. With a flick of her wrist, she tosses it in the direction of the sofa … and then groans when it falls behind it. Nothing, it seems, can be a win these days …

It's then she notices her last chance, her one saving grace. Lying on the coffee table and flipped onto its face is her music datapad. She crosses the room in three strides and grabs it as well as the earbuds and returns to bed. A simple touch of her finger to the pad starts the playback. Something soothing and gentle, she hopes. Something that will transition her failure into sleep so she can get proper sleep to deal with whatever the reapers or Cerberus throw at her next. You win some, you lose some, she recalls her father saying once so many years ago. With a sigh, she thinks, Yeah, Pop, but today we lost an important one … one that might just keep us from winning the whole thing ….

She desperately hopes she is wrong on that count.

Lying back, her eyes close and she sighs heavily as the first soft strains of piano filter in. It isn’t any song she is familiar with, but it has a nice sound to it … and then a deep, powerful, rich voice starts to croon. Resonate.

She bolts upright, eyes wide, breath tight in her chest. She knows that voice! This isn’t some professional recording, either – there’s a scratchiness in the background that suggests it was recorded over omni-tool. It also does nothing to hide the way the notes, so vibrant and compelling, meld with words that pull a deep and purely emotional response from within.

I can still taste you on my lips

I can still smell you on my sheets

I can still feel the way you tremble

When I hold you close to me

All thought of blissful peace in unconsciousness flees with the strength of a biotic flare. And she doesn’t care …

It's like everything about you

Is everything I need

Waking up without you

Is gonna be the death of me

I'm not so use to silence

I can't find you anywhere

The tears are automatic -- between lyrics and music, she cannot help it. With shaking hands, she lifts the datapad and searches for clues to its owner because it certainly is not hers.

~ n ~

Wearily, Kaidan exits the lift and enters the cabin as silently as he can. He’s aware, from EDI, that Shepard retreated here after speaking with the asari Councilor, Admiral Hackett, and following up with Liara. There is a pattern in her retreat, one he isn’t certain she’s aware of, but now is hardly the time to argue about it. Her constant state of go, go, go in the face of so much adversity without recharging is of concern to him. She is their pillar of strength at the forefront of this crusade, and she needs it as much if not more than any of the rest of them.

Still, she is who she is, and that isn’t worth arguing about either; thus the head start in the hopes she might take advantage of the opportunity and for once give in to her own needs. The fact that she’s here in her cabin suggests she may have.

He enters to darkness, the glow of the fish tank his only guide, but it’s more than enough, particularly for someone used to taking refuge in dark corners for torturous migraines. He maneuvers through the cabin with grace and skill and very little if any sound …

Until he realizes Shepard is sitting unnaturally upright in the middle of their bed. Starlight from the overhead window streams down over her; it’s more than enough to see she is shaken. Something about it, something he can’t put into words, leaves him uneasy. She turns toward him, their eyes meet, and he finds something hauntingly familiar there. “Shepard?”

“Kaidan ...”

Her voice is but a rough rasp of a whisper, but her eyes remain on his, on him. He swallows back wariness and descends the steps to sit on the edge of the bed. “Are you alright?” He is hesitant to reach out in case it startles her, and yet he cannot help himself. “Have a bad dream?” he asks as he laces his fingers with her free hand. “Is there something I can --”

She touches a datapad he didn’t see, and the air around them fills with sound.

“It's a lonely Sunday morning

Cuz you left me without warning

And I don't know how to make it through this lonely Sunday morning…”

The words and music are as familiar to him as breathing, but his eyes widen in shock as she sings along. “How did you …?”

She hands over what turns out to be his music pad. The one, he realizes, he never tucked back away in the drawer where he normally leaves it because they arrived early to Thessia and the situation there far more dire than anticipated ....

“Kaidan.”

Her voice cracks on his name and he winces at the pain in it. “Shepard, let me explain.”

She sets the pad aside and lifts her other hand to frame his cheek, turning his face toward her. “No need,” she whispers before leaning over to ghost a kiss across his lips. “I only have one question - why didn’t you tell me?”

He sighs – half in relief, half at the weight of having kept this from her for so long. “I …” He drops his gaze to their joined hands. “Losing you hurt,” he replies. It’s a simple excuse, too simple for what they’ve been through, but it’s the truth. “I needed a way to let that pain go.”

Against his cheek, he feels her hand tremble. “Do you … do you think … maybe you could teach me?”

“Hey.” He moves the pad out of the way and pulls her over onto his lap, wraps his arms around her, hums softly with the song. “Next time we’re on the Citadel?”

She nods, tucking her head against his shoulder. The song kicks into a repeat cycle, softly filling the air around them. “Sing for me?”

He presses a soft kiss to her forehead.

I can still taste you on my lips …

#mass effect fanfiction #ladya writes #fshenko #Michaela Shepard #Lonely Sunday Morning #Levi Kreis #scarletthalloran #Love you dearest!#thank you for being so patient!!!!

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garruson-vakarian · 4 years

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ME + DA Friend Pairings

Okay but hear me out...

Shepard x The Warden/The Inquisitor

They would share stories of their heroism and their incredible strokes of luck. They would enjoy each other’s company, but would respectfully leave each other be out of the fear that some conflict would spawn out of nowhere and threaten the world (again).

Jeff “Joker” Moreau x Hawke / Varric Tethras

They would absolutely need tissues from crying out of laughter. No one would be safe from the treachery of their humor. Joker would spin stories at a rate that even Hawke was impressed with... Varric may have met his match. That begs the question, though: How much of their stories are true?

Garrus Vakarian x Cullen Rutherford

Calibrations, strategy, and weaponry. Need I say more? These two would deliberate on their dreadful pasts and reflect on how they have changed their lives little by little to ensure that those tragedies don’t repeat themselves as long as they are still alive.

Kaidan Alenko x Alistair Theirin

Strong connections to their homeland. Would probably argue over who has the best national anthem, but laugh about it later over a warm homemade brew of Canadian-Fereldan craft beer.

Liara T’Soni x Lace Harding / Shaper Valta (same voice actress!)

Precious cinnamon rolls. All three of them. Each of them are curious about the world around them and are passionate when they talk about their work. However, they would not need to be protected at all costs, for they could easily protect themselves.

James Vega x The Iron Bull (same voice actor!)

They would host public contests to showcase who is stronger. Iron Bull would either hit James or hit on him. There’s no telling which would take place (first). There would be lots of competing and dancing between the two of them. Jimmy and Patches would have trouble getting bored.

Zaeed Massani x Fenris

Vengefully brooding in some corner, no doubt leaving a trail of dead bodies behind them. Zaeed would tell Fenris stories of how he killed a number of slavers as a mercenary, which would make him feel more comfortable in his company. Fenris, in turn, humored Zaeed by explaining how his hate for mages applies to biotics.

Urdnot Wrex x Sten

Severe levels of loyalty to their kin, to the point where they can make questionable decisions out of blind loyalty. They find respect for each other after questioning each other in their decisions and finding that they both learned from their experiences, and that an outsider’s influence may not have been the worst thing that could have happened to them.

Grunt x Oghren

Would absolutely attempt to out-drink each other. Grunt would learn to respect Oghren after he drank four bottles of ryncol and still managed to swing his axe in a 360 motion seven times without falling over. Grunt could do double that, but it was still more than anything a being half of his height could do.

Samara x Wynne

These two would talk about their need to protect others, and how their motherly love has grown to benefit those who need it. While Samara is dictated by the code, Wynne is aided by the spirit that possesses her. They ponder how they are lucky to be born with the gifts they are given, and that they are content with whatever fate has in store for them.

Thane Krios x Solas

I would be surprised if they did not discuss the meaning of life. They take pride in the fact that their role in their own lives is to serve as they are needed, and accept that some powers are greater than their own. However, this would not stop either of them in their endeavors to ensure that the ones they love are safe. Solas would attempt to replicate Thane’s reflective and vivid memories in the Fade, and invite him to experience it to lighten his burdens.

Morinth x Zevran Arainai

A dangerously provocative duo. These two would constantly tease each other into a bed somewhere, where Morinth could attempt to get Zevran to embrace eternity. Luckily, Zevran is smart enough to know when he is about to be overwhelmed by a woman (in a bad way), and can easily weasel his way out of her grasp. Regardless, the cycle continues.

Miranda Lawson x Isabella

These ladies would likely find comfort in talking about the little things that give them so much in common. It would help take away from their hectic lives, and allow peace to be found in fashion catalogs and their fierce independence.

Jack x Sera

At first, Jack would be incredibly annoyed by Sera. I mean, really, really annoyed. That is, until Jack stumbles upon some brownies in her quarters. Sera’s baking skills have improved since the bad cookies, and have evolved into a mastery of a red sand and lyrium brownies. It started out as a prank, but Jack makes sure to carry a few of them with her wherever she goes now, usually to remind herself not to destroy Sera the next time she sees her.

Kasumi Goto x Leliana

These girls would create some kind of secret language they could use to share information in a normal conversation with their peers. Even though they would refuse to share any secrets of their own, they would at least have fun with each other in the new world they have created together.

Ashley Williams x Anders

Both of these characters would share their constant strife with their unpopular opinions, which they do not hesitate to share. While they may find it difficult to get along with their peers because of this, they manage to get along with each other due to their dedication to their morals.

Commander Bailey x Blackwall

Would sit in immeasurable amounts of guilt and silence and avoid eye contact like the plague. Still, they could do that together and have a mutual understanding without speaking a word. The crossed arms would be enough.

Tali’Zorah vas Normandy x Josephine Montiliyet

They would share stories of their people’s history, which took place in ships that led to the success of generations. Each of them would explain the logistics of the ships they speak of, and be shocked in the stark difference between them. However, they would no doubt take notes of the intricate and fragile operations they function within.

Legion x Cole / Justice

An interesting combination, these three are. They have had the most elaborate journeys in self discovery, that they find it most beneficial that they share their knowledge. They also face identity crises, and find the experience most enlightening. They share the fear of becoming corrupted in the world they live in, which is a fear that is often shared with organics outside of the veil.

Mordin Solus x Merrill

Two researchers who are known for their questionable work, Mordin and Merrill would have the most interesting interactions. Merrill would be too anxious to cut Mordin off to explain how her magic works, so she would just silently sit and watch him pace back and forth and wait until he got close to passing out.

Dr. Karin Chakwas x Flemeth

Incredible amounts of wisdom. Essentially cares for others as needed, and they would go out of their way to ensure that others heed their warnings. Chakwas would share her grief about Joker and his resistance to take his medicine, while Flemeth would share her grief about Morrigan and her resistance to take her seriously.

Aria x Morrigan

They have both worked hard to attain their knowledge and power, and they will fight others to the death over what is theirs. However, if they grow close enough, they ~might~ show each other some vulnerability out of the sheer confidence that they are strong enough to destroy the other. However, Aria would remember Nyreen’s ethics and try to ensure that Kieran remains untouched.

#dragon age #dragon age origins #dragon age awakening #dragon age 2 #dragon age inquisition #mass effect #mass effect trilogy #mass effect 2 #mass effect 3 #mass effect andromeda

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hunnybadgerv · 4 years

Note

mShenko - Do they finish each other’s sentences? Pick up any phrases or habits from each other? Know when the other is hiding something?

Ship Questions

mShenko

Eep. So this is a tough one. I actually don’t have an mShenko pairing, yet. To be honest, I only really had Nyx and some just blank Sheps to write particular fills until I got sucked into a few other ships like Shoker and Shega for special events. I mean I do love mShenko, just not one I’ve tried my hand at writing, probably because I’m still neck deep in Nyx and Kaidan.

I figured in lieu of that, I’d give you two pairings for these two questions. Hopefully, that might work instead maybe. So, sticking with the ME verse I went with Bain Massani and Reyes Vidal. (Yes! Bain Massani and just about anyone is one of my crack ships. I just love that character more than I really have any reason to given his what ... 2 minutes of game time.) Nyx Shepard and Kaidan Alenko to keep the Shenko vibe happening. And I was forced to include Rhys Trevelyan and Dorian Pavus because they saw this and they elbowed everyone else in the ribs and ran to the front of the brain to answer questions once I started writing the replies. So, there is a bonus.

Do they finish each other’s sentences? Bain Massani/Reyes Vidal: Bain will because it drives Reyes up a tree. Reyes has tried to, but he’s always just a step off anytime he attempts it. But honestly, this is kind of on par for them. Bain and Reyes know how to tweak one another’s buttons and do it so well, but they also know where the line is. Reyes is more of a brat in the bedroom, while Bain’s bratty everywhere. (I wish I could think of a better word, but at this moment, that’s all my brain has got. I blame the sleep deprivation.)

Nyx Shepard/Kaidan Alenko: Yes. They really can and both of them do it interchangeably. But it is a gradual skill that they develop. By the time they go to Ilos, it is pretty much ingrained in both of them. They never really lose it either, though there are times when Kaidan bites his tongue when he might otherwise finish her sentence later because he’s not sure about the whole thing.

Rhys Trevelyan/Dorian Pavus: I think they could. Rhys does it only when he’s the reason Dorian’s tongue tied in the first place. Dorian will do it whenever Rhys finds himself at a loss, but he’s very conscious not to do it in public outside of those times. In private time/areas, they do it to one another all the time. But both of them have that very ingrained ability to code switch--Rhys because of his family and his own choices, and Dorian for kind of the same reasons, but not quite.

Pick up any phrases or habits from each other? Bain Massani/Reyes Vidal: This is a hard one to answer. I’m wracking my brain, but not finding anything. The main way I’ve written Bain and Reyes is more of a Friends With Benefits thing. Bain’s not big on commitment, though that changes later in their relationship. But I don’t see them trading habits. They are both very much their own people and they don’t spend enough lingering time around one another for that to occur.

Nyx Shepard/Kaidan Alenko: Yes, but in this case it is mainly Kaidan’s habits rubbing off on Nyx. He’s really one of the few biotics she’s worked with for an extended period of time. In her specialty, there was at max 1 biotic in a given company, so she didn’t work with a lot of others. And she didn’t have the same kind of training as other biotics. Then there’s the fact that up until working with Kaidan, Liara, and Wrex, she never really wove her biotics into her combat. She was a soldier first and she used her biotics like she would a grenade--mainly as an “oh shit” button that might give her enough of an edge to get around it. I think that there is some transfer from Shepard to Alenko as well, but I think that is more the cannon things that pop up ... like that whole ... “The major is very capable” bit. I like to give Shepard and the rest of the ME1 squad some credit for that influence on him.

Rhys Trevelyan/Dorian Pavus: They do, but in this case it is more tiny little things. Rhys knows Dorian wrinkles his nose at certain scents so he becomes more aware of the soaps, oils, and tinctures he uses. Rather than picking up phrases, they more so learn to read one another’s linguistic clues better. Those innnocent sounding words that mean something more. Though Rhys doe pick up some Tevene from Dorian, and tries to get him to teach him more of the language properly. Dorian claims that teaching Rhys Tevene is useless because they only get partway through the lesson before one of them is trying to taste the words out of the other’s mouth. He insists he would need to find a far less attractive language tutor.

Know when the other is hiding something? Bain Massani/Reyes Vidal: No, actually. They are both excellent at misleading and misdirection, they know how to keep their own counsel. But they both always assume that on some subjects the other is probably holding something back. Like asking where Bain gathered his “salvage” or the weapons he’s stockpiled. Or asking how things are on Kadara. They both know that they have their own secrets and if it is important enough or something the other needs to know they will share. But they don’t push, because they wouldn’t want the other pushing into their business either.

Nyx Shepard/Kaidan Alenko: This one is incredibly hard to answer. Nyx hides somethings, just because it is her nature, like how stressed she is and how things are affecting her. In the ME1 timeline, getting her to admit a problem in some arenas is like pulling teeth with a pipe wrench. It really does become an observation game on Kaidan’s part. He gradually discovers the moods and the signals of those. Just like Nyx does with him. Sometimes she knows a migraine is imminent before he does, because she notices the external changes before he’s really feeling it.

Rhys Trevelyan/Dorian Pavus: Dorian is a very astute man—he assumes that Rhys is probably always hiding something, especially when the conversation is about how this injury occured or where that bruise came from. Rhys tends to play these kinds of things off lightly, in part because they do not concern him, he is confident in his abilities, and he also does not want Dorian worrying unduly. Rhys also knows that there are some things that Dorian hides; he can see it, but he doesn’t push. Dorian’s experience at least in terms of relationships has been very different from Rhys’ and Rhys knows exactly how lucky he is that the people closest to him, mainly accept him (except that brother with the dagger and all). He knows enough to know how rare that is, and how rare it is to be in his position of privilege in terms of people not treating him poorly for his lifestyle choices.

#Ship Questions #Bain Massani #Reyes Vidal #Kaidan Alenko #Nyx Shepard #Rhys Trevelyan #Dorian Pavus #Sorry about the shift on this #hope you don't mind too much #urrone

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ezrisdax-archive · 4 years

Note

Thoughts on a fun way to make a Star Trek/Mass Effect crossover? Or characters interactions cross-series?

like a full crossover? hmmm, certainly it’d be a parallel worlds type situation where I feel in Trek world the Leviathans didn’t evolve and create the Reapers and thus life wasn’t constantly wiped out and that’s why there’s more of an alien populace in the galaxy to explain the stark differences. And then time travel would get involved too since ME takes place before Trek.

So depending on which Trek you’re gonna go with (which for me I can pick any) there’s some wormhole shenanigans going on only what they call wormholes are the dark energy spots that Reapers use in ME time. The crew is investigating them when they go through it and end up in ME time (or if you want the ship accidentally goes through a la Voyager crossing over quadrants).

At first the crew is clearly trying to not get involved but can’t resist the chance to explore and learn the differences and when they realize this isn’t their actual past and can interact with the place more, which brings them into contact with the Normandy which has been sent to investigate the strange readings so we get to crew interactions of (which I’ll put under a cut cause it got long):

Spock and/or Tuvok, and Liara discussing the Vulcan Mind Meld versus the Asari meld and coming to the conclusion that they might have a genetic link back

Tali and B’Elanna having a field day comparing notes (and complaining) on what it’s like keeping a ship together when you don’t have all the parts you really need since Tali used to do that with the Quarian ships and B’Elanna does that now

Kirk and Shepard discussing choices made that shape worlds for better or worse despite the best of intentions and geeking out over model ships. You can’t tell me that doesn’t happen.

Bashir and Mordin are the only people able to understand each other in their speed talking and excitedly sharing notes about different aliens.

Worf and Wrex and Grunt immediately start a fight (bonus points for Wrex insulting Worf for sounding like Uvenk whom Dorn voices)

Seven and Legion (in a world where he lives, what do you mean he dies) discussing what it’s like going from a hive mind to being individuals and coming to find yourself and who you are as a person, like Legion clearly was more involved in finding this aspect for his people as opposed to Seven who had it forced on her but they share the desire now to learn and become an individual and protect those they care about

Janeway and Shepard blow something up by accident while trying to investigate something because of course they do

Samara and Deanna sitting down and just discussing life because I feel like these two would be friends and smirking at their friends antics and secretly betting on who’s gonna get into what danger

I actually have a lot of thoughts about paragon!Shepard and Michael being similar characters in the sense of having this burden of the galaxy placed on them and speaking out against things that people refuse to see except for the crew they’re apart of and trying to warn people of a war and do their best to prevent it and bring people together

Tilly and Tali and Gabby together would be a delight I feel, just talking excitedly about everything under the sun. including the sun.

Sulu and Joker arguing who's a better pilot and Sulu being fascinated how Mass Effect fields work when it comes to piloting and Joker proudly explaining it

Sisko tries to adopt Grunt from Shepard (no I’m mostly kidding, I think that Sisko and Shep have a great deal of respect for each other in caring for the crew and having in placed in an almost god like reverence in certain situations and the struggles with that. and then also Sisko brings back baseball to the Mass Effect world. Shepard absolutely hates that)

I figure the EMH would actually be most interested in biotics and the science of that and writing down to make a paper to publish as the first hologram to do so.

Likewise EDI is fascinated with hologram technology that Trek’s have and if the ships have ever developed sentience in any way and if she can incorporate some of that technology into the Normandy to further her own development

I think Kira gets along with Wrex and is angry at Salarians on his behalf once she hears what was done to the Krogan because the genocide of a species hits hard with her

Tilly and Samantha are even worse than Bashir and Mordin at talking so fast no one gets it but them and they very much do enjoy talking to each other

Tom and Steve have shuttle races until they’re ordered back by their bosses because really guys

Geordi has a lot of talks with EDI, some about his friendship with Data and the human side of interacting with a being that’s trying to learn about humanity themselves but most about the ship and the benefits of integration with it that allow you to be aware of everything that’s happening on it

also Data and EDI tell the worst jokes and everyone regrets this

Picard and Thane drink tea together and discuss philosophies and Thane talks about his species old artifacts and how they were lost to his culture and Picard just listens with interest and some ideas on how you could maybe get those back

Jadzia and Jack get along surprisingly well, they have a holodeck fight at one point and Jadzia takes tricorder readings of biotics and then they go out drinking together

on the flip side Ezri and Miranda get along in terms of being forced to live up to unreasonable family expectations (all though far less harsh in Ezri’s case) and having to carve out your own identity and also like...weirdly everyone hating you for no other reason than your character exists

Bev gets into playing poker with Kaidan and Steve and now they’re all trying to beat each other constantly at it

Saru and Liara get along the easiest at first and discuss the wild things their crews get up to and how they eventually just started to go along with the madness

Kasumi keeps trying to steal from Tuvok but can’t manage it and thinks it’s the best challenge she’s had in years. Tuvok just wants to talk to Thane and get back to the Delta Quadrant already captain.

Harry and Jacob get to talking about having to prove themselves and always being looked over and the troubles of trying to get your own command

Bones hates all of this, Kirk what the hell have you done now. That said he and Zaeed get to drinking and talking about the bullshit that comes from space travel. All though Zaeed’s is more about how annoying it is to try to kill someone in it. Bones thinks he’s just over exaggerating and not a mercenary at first.

James keeps showing off for literally everyone and turning things into a competition with whoever he can when it comes to physical activities, he’s still sulking that Data beat him until he finds out that Data is an android and then calls foul on it.

Odo and Zaeed grumble about everything together

B’Elanna and Ashley have a book club that they don’t tell anyone about and share romance novels and poetry while complaining about how everyone doesn’t expect it from them and that’s part of why they don’t tell people those parts of themselves

Uhura gets the translators turned off on the Normandy to listen to everyone’s dialect and language and is quick to pick up on it, she’s especially good with Drell and enjoys conversing with Thane in it

Liara is absolutely freaked out that Deanna sounds like her mother and Deanna is absolutely using this to troll her whenever she can because it amuses her

Grunt and Chekov get into arguments about history of all things despite that people keep pointing out that they’re from alternate worlds and therefore it’s different anyway

Chakwas and Chakotay sit down to talk about what it’s like sorta taking care of the crew and just ridiculous stories of things they’ve put with

Riker at one point talks to Miranda about clones and dealing with someone who is the same genetically as you but isn’t you and do you have a relationship with them or leave them be (they don’t come up with an answer really)

Mordin gets banned from taking samples of other aliens

Nog and Gabby talk one point about being sorta new to the experiences of war and frontline suddenly and the horrors that come with it and share their experiences of being trapped by the Reapers vs being in a Jem’Hadar fight and coming back from that

Guinan doesn’t care much for Javik but they do have one good discussion about what it’s like being one of the last of your species and seeing so many of them die due to a machine race (and worse, converted to serve that race) that you just can’t fight back against no matter how much you try (or that’s what they thought at the time)

Samantha and Spock and Kirk and/or Airiam have strategy game nights and really get into it and Spock will typically leave while Sam and Kirk are still geeking out over it until the morning

Quark is banned from the Normandy point blank

Worf tries to get everyone to appreciate Klingon opera, the only one he manages to get into it are Grunt and Legion

Scotty is especially fascinated with the drive core of the Normandy and talks to Adams about it constantly

Chakotay and James having a boxing match at one point

Jake interviews like everyone and is thinking about turning this experience into a novel and enjoys listening to everyone’s stories

O’Brien and Garrus get caught up in calibrations, can you come back later

okay this literally is getting too long already but I could keep going. I think then there’s a group discussion about the Borgs vs the Reapers and the troubles everyone faces in those fights and a lot of back and forth about things that have worked for one crew that may help someone else out (like the Changeling cure to maybe help the Genophage cure or vice versa)

#mass effect #star trek #beej talks mass effect #beej talks star trek #Anonymous #replies in thirty minutes or its free

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mass-effect-tales · 4 years

Text

Sparks Fly ch.7

Kiara's head pounded as she woke up. She cursed as she slowly sat up and looked around. She recognized the Normandy med bay and noticed Tali sitting nearby.

"If you're my nurse then I must have done something right. Now where's my sponge bath?" Kiara snickered. Ever since Tali joined her and Kiara had become fast friends talking over mechanics. Tali had gotten used to her play flirting real quick after the first few pickup lines.

"I think you should ask your boyfriend for that instead of me." Tali replied without looking up from her holopad.

"Boyfriend? Since when did I get one of those?" Kiara's stomach growled when she smelled the plate of food on the table next to her bed. She happily began to eat while Tali moved her seat closer to Kiara.

"So you and Decimus aren't together? You could have fooled me. He barely left your side while you were out."

Kiara paused mid bite. He stayed with her while she was unconscious? If it wasn't for the fact she needed to eat to regain her energy, she would probably have lost her appetite.

"Where is he now?

"I think he's talking to Joker on the main deck."

Once Kiara finished her meal she made her way up to the main deck. She nodded at Shepard who was looking over the galaxy map. She could hear Decimus and Joker cracking jokes as she walked up to him.

"Hey Joker can I steal Decimus from you for a bit?" Kiara asked, making Decimus jump in surprise.

"Well look who's up. Yeah sure, I need to think of some more jokes anyway."

Kiara grabbed Decimus's arm and dragged him away. She led him into the meeting room and turned on him as soon as the doors closed.

"Are you falling for me?" Kiara asked, making Decimus make a surprised trill from his subvocals.

"Where did this come from?!"

"Just answer the question."

Decimus's mandibles were pressed against his face as he looked away.

"I might have started feeling something more for you."

Kiara sighed, she hoped that this wouldn't happen.

"Listen, I'll tell you now that I'm not dating material."

"Why would you say that?" Decimus reached out to take her hand but she stepped back and out of his reach.

"There's a reason why I just have friends with benefits and not a relationship."

"Why?"

"Talk to Jane. I can't talk about it." Kiara quickly walked out leaving Decimus to watch her leave. He walked out of the meeting room and went to Shepard.

"Commander, could I speak to you for a moment alone?"

Shepard looked up from the galaxy map and at him with a raised eyebrow.

"Is everything alright?"

"Um, it's about Kiara."

A look of recognition passed over Shepard's face.

"Joker, set course for Noveria. I'll be in my cabin."

"You got it commander."

She gestured for Decimus to follow her as she headed down to her cabin. She didn't speak until they were in her cabin.

"Alright, what do you need to know?"

"Why doesn't she want anyone dating her."

Shepard sighed, a hand moving to rub her temple. "It's not that she doesn't want to date, she doesn't trust anyone that wants to be with her."

"How come?"

"Do you know about what happened to the human colony Mindoir?"

Decimus nodded, not liking where this was going.

"Kiara and I were the only survivors of the raid. I found a place to hide but Kiara was taken. She was one of the people tortured in front of Alliance Marines who were pinned down and unable to reach us to help. When she was finally saved she wouldn't go anywhere without me for months and frequently had night terrors. She still suffers from them and has dealt with multiple partners break it off when they couldn't handle her during an episode."

While Shepard couldn't hear it Decimus was growling softly with his subvocals. If he ever found out the identity of any of her previous partners he'd probably call them a coward for leaving her at her weakest point.

"Is there anything I can do to show her I wouldn't do that?"

Shepard smiled slightly. "Take it slow and just keep being you. If she lashes out just take it. She talks big and says things she doesn't mean when overwhelmed or upset but it's never true. If you hear her having a night terror try to comfort her or get me."

Decimus nodded, turning to leave when Shepard stopped him.

"Also if you ever hurt her I'll break your legs and all that protective friend stuff." She said with a laugh. Decimus laughed lightly but something told him she wouldn't hesitate to feed him his mandibles if he ever hurt Kiara.

--------------------------------------

Kiara cursed as she dodged another blast from one of the asari commandos. Her head was starting to kill her the longer they fought. Behind her Shepard, Kaiden and Liara fought to take down Benezia.

"Not to sound like a bitch or anything but I could use a hand here!"

She smirked when she heard a roar from Wrex and rolled out of the way to let him charge down two of the commandos. When the third commando dropped she knew Tali had taken care of her.

"And Jane said two teams would be overkill. Remind me to tell her I was right." Kiara and her team rejoined Shepard right after Benezia died. Both groups were amazed to see the living rachni queen. Kiara ignored the group arguing about if the queen should live or die and walked over to Shepard.

"What are you thinking Janey?" She could see Shepard was contemplating as she stared at the rachni queen.

"I don't think she deserves to die. From the sound of it, something made the rachni act differently."

"It's your call, whatever you decide you know I'll support you."

Shepard nodded, hand hovering over the release switch before hitting it. On the way back to the Normandy, Wrex continued to voice his displeasure at Shepard's choice.

"I still think that was a stupid decision." Wrex grumbled from the back of the group.

"And I think you guys have two balls too many but you don't hear me complaining." Kiara replied, flipping him off when he started to grumble again.

"You humans have the strangest insults, am I supposed to be intimidated by that?" Wrex snorted as Kiara looked back to glare at him.

"More like an invitation to suck my nonexistent dick or shut the hell up."

Wrex let out a booming laugh as they boarded the Normandy. "I like the quad on this one! You would have made a good krogan. Too bad you're too squishy."

"You call this squishy?" Kiara lifted her shirt after removing her armor to show her toned stomach.

"I'm not asking why Kiara is taking her clothes off in front of Wrex." Decimus stated when he saw the scene he just walked into. While Shepard went to take the call from the council Kiara and Decimus headed to the dining hall. While Kiara was making herself a sandwich, Decimus was hugging her from behind and resting his head on her shoulder.

"You know it's really hard to move when you're doing this," she stated, a hint of a smile on her lips. Decimus just purred and hugged her tighter.

"Too bad. I'm not moving."

"Would you two do that somewhere else?"

Both looked over to see Ashley rolling her eyes at them. Decimus saw Kiara smirk and knew immediately she was up to something.

"Do what? You mean this?"

She turned around and surprised Decimus by tugging him down and pressing her lips to his mouthplates. He knew it was just to tease Ashley but he was going to savor the feeling of her lips while he can. His purr deepened as he pulled her closer and tried not to chuckle when he heard Ashley gag.

"You two are disgusting." Ashley scoffed, getting up and heading for the lower deck. Kiara snickered as she pulled away from Decimus.

"I hope you know I didn't mean anything with that kiss. I just wanted to piss her off."

"If you kiss me like that you can piss off whoever you want." Decimus replied with a silly grin that made his mandibles flutter. Kiara rolled her eyes and slipped out of his arms so she could go eat with Jane. It was then Decimus noticed Garrus was standing at the other end of the hall looking at him with a raised brow.

"I don't think I've ever seen you act this way with a woman before." Garrus mused as he walked over. Decimus shrugged as he grabbed himself a drink.

"Probably because I don't see her as a one night stand. I really care about her."

"I'm not judging your taste in women, I just don't see the appeal of a human."

"So you're telling me you weren't checking out the commander last week?"

Garrus tensed, "I was impressed with her negotiating skills, nothing more."

Decimus chuckled, patting him on the shoulder as he walked by. "You keep telling yourself that."

--------------------------------------

"You know Jane when I said our next mission should be to the beach, this isn't what I meant."

Kiara leaned against the wheel of the mako as Shepard went over Kirrahe's plan.

"I'll join the second team. You're needed to arm the bomb." Ashely spoke up. Kiara rolled her eyes as Ashley and Kaiden argued on who should go with Kirrahe.

"How about this, I'll go with Ashley and Decimus can go with Shepard. He can help break into the base and I can provide backup."

Shepard nodded, "just be careful I want you both back in one piece."

Kiara smirked giving Shepard a mock salute as she went over her weapons. Once she was ready she walked over to Wrex to see how he was doing.

"How're you holding up big guy?"

Wrex grunted, "you better hope Shepard is right about this."

"Trust me, I know Jane and she would do everything in her power to find a proper cure if she could."

Wrex let out a snort, side eyeing her. "What about you? Do you think the krogan deserve a cure for the genophage."

Kiara didn't look at him as she stared at the waves lapping at the shore. "As someone who can't have kids I know that I'd give anything to be able to have a child."

Wrex hummed walking past her and pushed his shotgun into her arms.

"Come back in one piece."

Kiara smirked as she strapped his shotgun to her back. "I plan to."

----------------------------------------

"Shepard we have geth flyers keeping us from advancing. Anyway you can take care of them?" Ashley called over the comms while Kiara kept watch at the back of the group.

"Decimus found the fueling station. The flyers have been taken care of."

"Roger that, move out!" Ashley gestured for the team to move forward. Kirrahe had Kiara advance to the front of the group to begin the frontal assault while his men fired long distance. Ashley watched Kiara's back as she threw herself into the middle of geth and blasted them back with a mix of biotics and Wrex's shotgun.

"Alright, Ashley and I will go on ahead to regroup with Jane." Kiara gestured to the stairs ahead of them.

"Alright, our team will retreat to the ships and move out of the blast radius. Good work Williams, Odell." Kirrahe nodded to the women as they ran to the stairs.

"Y'know, you weren't half bad back there Ash." Kiara commented, looking over her shoulder at Ashley with a grin. Ashley returned her grin and gestured to the shotgun.

"I could say the same about you. I've never seen a vanguard on the field before but I can see why you guys take the front line."

"Oh yeah, nothing is more intimidating than an angry vanguard charging at you."

Kiara's laughter was cut short when a bullet broke through her shields and pierced her side. Ashley quickly pulled Kiara down behind a stack of crates as the geth swarmed from their hiding spots and shot at where the women took cover.

"Shepard! We're pinned down and Kiara has been shot!

#fanfic #mass effect #mass effect oc #human/turian

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incorrectly-quoted-queers · 4 years

Text

Drunk Punch Love- Chapter 2

Pairing: FemShep and Garrus Vakarian (Shakarian)

Rating: PG-13 (with some tossed F-bombs)

Summary: Their awkward, badass journey through saving the galaxy and accidentally falling in love

Chapter 2: The Morning After

When she woke up, she was alone.

The night before, cradled in Garrus' arms, felt like a wild fever dream more than reality. Anya half convinced herself it was, until she noticed the message notification blinking on her data-pad.

Left when you fell asleep. Hope you wake up feeling better, Shepard.

If she didn't quite literally have a galaxy to save, she'd kill herself. Might as well, after last night's embarrassment.

Not only had she been a wobbly drunk, but she spent half of it high on being attracted to Garrus Vakarian of all people and the other half weeping about the burden of being a hero. That wasn't what Commander Shepard was supposed to be like, especially not in front of her subordinates. She felt like a fucking idiot.

Pulling on her well-worn boots, her longest surviving pair, she decided just to get it over with. She was hardly suave enough to avoid the problem with grace, or clever enough to lie herself out of it. Anya just had to put on a brave face, talk to him, profusely apologize, and never get drunk again.

All throughout the halls, she felt like everyone was watching her, which they weren't, but she was hopelessly skittish and paranoid. But a few helmsman did shoot her an odd look. Did anyone see Garrus walking out of her room at god knows what hour? Was there damn buzz around the ship that she fucked the turian even though she didn't even get to do the fun part of that?

On cure, her head shot a lightning bolt of pain through her forehead. Right. She shouldn't be thinking about there being a "fun part".

She spent her life a soldier, and only ended up with a rank because she hadn't died yet and, for some reason, people loved her speeches. They were always cheesy blends from all the war films she watched, but they seemed to work. Didn't mean she deserved a command for them.

Okay, well, ANya had to admit she was a damn good leader on the field and she could get nearly anyone through any firefight. But that didn't feel like enough, just being the one who stumbled into all this good praise.

Maybe it was about time she stumbled into something less praise-worthy, like getting frisky with her subordinates.

The second she thought the word frisky she wanted to vomit. And anyway, who was she kidding? No one gave a shit. Half the crew was placing bets on if Liara or Kaidan would get her into bed.

God, if anyone saw Garrus last night, that'd really fuck up the pool.

She hoped that, at the very least, they'd be annoyed with her for ruining their game. Garrus really didn't need all the bullshit that came with the crew thinking they were sleeping together. Because they weren't even sleeping together, so he didn't even get benefits from rumor bullshit like that.

Christ. Benefits. Her brain needed a fucking time out.

Anya didn't really have time for a time out, though, because she already was in the elevator, holding her breath. Time to face the music and hopefully make this the last awkward day between her and Garrus for a long time.

When she got down to the main battery, he was already working on the Mako like a surgeon. Anya walked over, trying to act like it was any other normal day. She kept her posture stiff, her hands tucked behind her back, and from the outside she probably pulled it off damn well. Ashley and Wrex probably thought nothing of it.

On the inside, though, she was screaming.

"Ah, Garrus? Can I talk to you?"

Garrus pulled so quickly out from under the Mako that he hit his head. He grimaced the entire time he was standing up, brushing his oily talon on his armor. He wasn't normally so messy, so it clearly was an awkward time here for everyone. "Shepard. You don't have to do that, I get that last night-"

"Sorry, my question wasn't really a request." Cocking her head to the other side of the Mako, away from prying eyes, he followed her. When they finally were still and she felt like she had enough of a sane head, she started talking, "I just wanted to apologize for my behavior. If I had any idea i'd act like that... Anyway, I'm your CO and I never should have gotten so personal with you. It won't happen again."

Garrus just had this complicated look on his face. "I appreciate the sentiment, Shepard, but I think you needed it." He sighed, not meeting her eyes, but still looking so serious. "If you need someone to talk to sometimes, I'm always here. You always have my back, I'm happy to have yours. The galaxy is an awful lot for one person to carry on their shoulders. And if it's knocking out bad guys or helping you carry the burden, I'm with you."

While his face and his company was so comforting, and hearing him support her smoothed down a lot of the panic seething in her gut, there was an important thing he didn't mention. And as much as she'd like to not mention it, she wasn't good at ignoring things. "And I see you've completely omitted that whole kiss thing. Good. We should probably never talk about that."

"Yeah, of course. Don't want this to turn into some interspecies awkwardness thing anyway."

Shepard laughed, but she knew it felt like it was choking through a damn stranglehold. Of course it would've been weird to come onto him, right? He wasn't into humans like that. Most Turians weren't. "Right. I think I was just lonely, please don't think too much about it-"

With this sly look in his eye, he cocked his head and asked, "Think too much about what?"

This time, real amusement bubbled out of her. Anya even snorted. Even if it meant crushing that fleeting crush of hers like she crushed Geth under the Mako, that smile of his and the way he spoke to her, funny and understanding, made it better. "Perfect. Now I guess I'll leave you to the Mako." Taking a deep breath, she added, "Still on for movie night in two days."

"Wouldn't miss it for the galaxy, Shepard."

While he seemed to stand easy next to her, something in the back of her head was just begging her to keep talking, to keep the silence away, banter enough so she could gauge his behavior and see if they really were alright again. Anya added, a little too quickly, "Okay, but if we run into Saren, we better miss it."

He didn't even seem to notice her jitteriness next to him, just was glancing back and forth between her and the Mako like he had something to do. But he still kept talking. "I dunno, I have a pretty great movie lined up for us." Garrus chuckled, but then added, "Don't worry, if we finally catch that son of a bitch, I bring our guns every Friday anyway."

"You don't."

Then he looked straight at her for the first time all morning, with that fire in his eyes. The one that made her ask him to join the Normandy in the first place. "Always gotta be prepared to bring a rogue spectre to justice."

"And this is why I have movie nights with you. You think of everything." Anya then took a deep breath, relieved. They were okay. Patting his shoulder, she instead focused back on being what she was good at: a soldier. "I planned to do some target practice this morning. Wanna join?"

Just as she was ready to hop into the elevator and try to beat him at snipers again, his expression wavered. Her stomach fell through the floor. "I.. I really gotta finish up work on the Mako. Have fun, though. I'll see you with everybody at dinner." And, too smoothly, Garrus sat down on his mechanics bench and slid right below the Mako again.

Anya couldn't bear to get caught standing there, staring at him, even though she could've stuck her stunned ass there for way too long. Instead, she swallowed her pride and remembered that she was trying to put things back to normal, right?

With a flick of her head and a sharp bite of the inside of her cheek, Anya re-adjusted her dejected posture and looked to the other people in the room. They had to be her focus now; they were all friends here, just friends, nothing else. So anyone could shoot with her and it wouldn't matter.

Using her Commander voice, louder and more confident than normal, Anya said, "Wrex. Williams. Target practice?"

Across the room, she watched the other woman's face light up. "Hell yeah, Commander."

Wrex just said, "Don't tell me what to do." But then he picked up his favorite guns and headed towards the elevator.

Perfect. She didn't need Garrus to want to do everything with her. It probably would just help her kill these drunk feelings she had, and she could start by proverbially putting them on a target and shooting them out.

Anya Shepard was out here to take down Saren, and she didn't have time for drama.

Walking behind Wrex and Ashley, they passed Kaidan and he had this expectant look in his eyes. But looking at him looking at her like that?

Well, Anya walked right by him, too. She didn't need that drama anymore, either.

The only thing she had time for was being Commander Shepard, the first human Spectre, hope for humanity, and the woman who would take down Saren. Yeah, that sounded about right.

///

I remember this chapter being harder to write than I expected! The intro to Garrus and Anya talking was easy, but it was hard to walk the line between their very comfortable friendship and the new boundaries they crossed.

Anyway, thanks as always to my loveliest patrons:

Danyell Jones

Amy Connolly

If you want to support my stories, help me become an even bigger nerd on Twitch, and get so early and bonus content, please check out my patreon: patreon.com/gracejordan

#Mass Effect #femshep x garrus #garrus vakarian #Anya Shepard #femshep #Mass effect fanfiction #Joker #fanfiction #AU

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fenharel · 5 years

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C2, C5, D4, G1, G3, J2 and Y5 for ... cassia, elias & violet?

C2. in what position do they sleep?

Cassia: the sky diver: A skydiver sleeps on their stomachs, head to one side, with their arms wrapped around behind a pillow

Elias: the log roller: The sleeper rests on their side, legs extended straight and arms in place

Violet: the sleepy soldier: A person that sleeps in the sleepy soldier position sleeps on their back, with their arms straight down at their side

C5. who is the best at comforting them when down?

Cassia: her crew tbh. the more people she has around her to distract her from her own thoughts the better! but she especially appreciates pallegina & aloth on their own too Elias: no one really does, because he won’t show you that he’s down? he is the one that comforts others, making you comfort him seems like a burden he doesn’t want you to have. he does have his brother icar though Violet:her sister ivy, kaidan, sometimes tali, too. she would rather isolate herself than being with a lot of people, especially if she’s down. so she only has a handful of people who comfort her like that.

D4. what type of clothes and accessories do they wear?

Cassia: extravagant, sexy, she usually has something green on her, corsets, long boots, lot’s of golden rings, necklaces, earrings and general accessories, big fancy hats, lose blouses, a sword and two blunderbusses are always on her, she shows a lot of skinElias: simple and comfortable. he has to be able to travel with them but also fight and jump around with his clothes without any problems. no armour because he’s a monk. natural colours. leather bracelets, no sleeves, no shoes. often has his chest exposed and literally only wearing baggy pants, especially if he’s training. his long dreads are usually tied into a ponytail with a simple piece of leather because of practicality.Violet:she wears her black/red n7 armour most of the time, or her uniform. on shore leave she wears dark pants, light tank tops and her leather jacket. friends make fun of it sometimes because it’s always the same one, but it’s like a comfort jacket to her which holds special meaning in her eyes. no accesories, hair tied into a bun most of the time.

G1. what is their most attractive external feature?

Cassia: the way she carries herself? she knows she is sexy and she shows it: through her posture, her smile or even her eyes.Elias: his muscles or his hair is probably easiest to spot, but actually it’s his smile! it’s bright, charming and genuine and makes you smile, too.Violet:she has incredible full and kissable lips

G3. what benefits come with being their friend?

Cassia: what is cooler than being a part time pirate with her tbh? you can hang around with her on her ship and see the world. wants you to enjoy yourself. doesn’t really judge. you’ll probably wake up one day with golden accessories around your neck and on your hair (she doesn’t like to share anything. but she makes exceptions for her buddies), you might think she is a self preserving part time coward but she will be brave for you, amazing storyteller, you’ll be amazing at spotting liars after a while cause she lies all the time.Elias: he will take care of you and make sure you’re comfortable and happy at all times!!! amazing listener! has fascinating stories to share himself if you’re interested! wise! will also punsh people into the face for you! if talking didn’t do the trick ofcViolet:no one fucks with you if you’re next to her because she exhibits big dick energy. real and honest. doesn’t lie or sugarcoat things. kind and respectful towards you. your adulty friend who takes charge and is responsible. badass with a big heart vibes. always knows what the right thing to do is. will awkwardly dance with you and not care how she looks like while doing it. you can see space with her on her spaceship and honestly, goals.

J2. who makes them happy?

Cassia: aloth, pallegina, serafen, kana, tekehu, hiravias, her crew in general :’)Elias: his brother, just the company of good people makes him happy Violet:kaidan, her sister, garrus, tali, liara, wrex, grunt, miranda

Y5. what’s your favorite thing about them?

Cassia: BESIDES of the fact that i’m a big pirate stan, hmm… cassia is cocky as hell and does and takes and says whatever she wants, which was super fun for me to roleplay! she exhibits a lot of piraty stereotypes because i love them, like being selflish or self-preserving, but i love that she is a cipher and because of that always was connected to people and cared a bit more than your regular raider which is i think my most favourite thing about her and something i always kept in mind while roleplaying too!! i just love her sm!!!!!Elias: ummm he’s literally an aasimar angel with WINGS. if i would ever get to actually play him i would probably always wait for the opportunity to get them out lmao. if i would need to pick one thing tho i would probably go something backstory related, which is that his biggest strengh ended up to be his biggest downfall (to keep it short he was nice to somebody and they fucked him over). he has to deal with that and fix this now. it’s my favourite thing because i’m usually not a fan of good & perfect characters, but twisting tiny things like that makes me stan very hard.Violet:shepard is THE QUEEn. i love everything about her idk what my favourite things is!! one of the most self sacrificing people you will ever meet! a boss as bitch!! she is so strong-willed which is probably the thing i would pick. she literally died and still continued on. i love her!!

abc’s of your ocs

#thalasians #answered #cassia loreley #elias #violet shepard #😚💕#ocs tag

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spectre-requisitions-exchange · 5 years

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Initial Pinch Hits - ALL CLAIMED

Welcome back, friends, to another year of Pinch Hits! If you're interested in claiming this, please send us a private message with your AO3 username, please and thank you! This assignment is due at Sat 09 Mar 2019 06:00PM EST.

Pinch Hit #1: Nalanox: Female Shepard/Urdnot Wrex, Female Shepard/Mordin Solus, Kallo Jath/Female Ryder | Sara, Female Shepard/Urdnot Wrex, Zaeed Massani/Female Shepard, Fanfiction

Pinch Hit #2: ninaunn: Javik/Liara T'Soni, Jack | Subject Zero/Female Shepard, Samara/Female Shepard (Mass Effect), Liara T'Soni/Ashley Williams, Aethyta/Benezia ::Fanart, Fanfiction

Prompts below the cut!

Pinch Hit #1: Nalanox

Request 1 by NalaNox

Female Shepard/Urdnot Wrex, Fanfiction

Friends with benefits who catch feelings. One of them admit in a moment of intimacy, the scene plays from there. Can I have a bit of angst around feelings and have some smut? Thank you!

Request 2 by NalaNox

Female Shepard/Mordin Solus, Fanfiction Fluffy, the complications between salarian/human relationships.

Request 3 by NalaNox

Kallo Jath/Female Ryder | Sara, Fanfiction A tough fight, kallo and sara fuelled on adrenaline have post fight sex.

Request 4 by NalaNox

Female Shepard/Urdnot Wrex, Fanfiction

ME2, finding wrex on tuchanka, relationship from ME1 the angst around that.

Request 5 by NalaNox

Zaeed Massani/Female Shepard, Fanfiction Renegade shep, the process of falling in love with a war torn vet.

Pinch Hit #2: Request 1 by ninaunn

Javik/Liara T'Soni, Fanart, Fanfiction Thessia has been razed. Everything the Empire once was is gone. How do Javik and Liara begin to look past their tragedies towards the future? Would love exploration of cultural and ideological differences, and them learning to compromise. Preferably post-war, and nothing explicit.

Request 2 by ninaunn

Jack | Subject Zero/Female Shepard, Fanart, Fanfiction Describe to me the moment they both find each other after the war. How have Shepard and Jack's separate responsibilities and trials shaped their reunion? The set up is up to you, be it a rescue or a hospital visit. Preferably nothing too explicit.

Request 3 by ninaunn

Samara/Female Shepard (Mass Effect), Fanart, Fanfiction Both have such different perspectives on loss. And hope. I'm more interested in character growth and pov. Preferably nothing too explicit.

Request 4 by ninaunn

Liara T'Soni/Ashley Williams, Fanart, Fanfiction Liara once believed in a goddess. Ashley thinks she still believes in her god. The war has changed them both in ways that makes faith hard to reconcile. I'm more interested in character growth, pov and cultural differences/perspectives. Preferably nothing too explicit.

Request 5 by ninaunn

Aethyta/Benezia, Fanart, Fanfiction How does time change them? And there, Little Wing is already flying away. Run wild with this. Can be from either pov at any stage or their relationship. I'm more interested in character exploration and pov. Preferably nothing too explicit.

#specrecspinchhits #Mass Effect

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n7inky-fanfics · 3 years

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Life Goes On: 11

CW: PTSD

Hazel Shepard:

The next week my friends all call me. They heard about the mission from each other. Some congratulate me, some yell at me for taking the risk, and some ask if I will be going on more missions. I remind them that I am here and alive, that I am retired, and that it was a one-time deal.

Two months after we got back to the Citadel, Kaidan and I are preparing for a party. He told me that some of our friends had wanted to keep it a surprise, but he insisted I know about it to avoid causing an incident. I don't handle surprises well. We've stocked the bar, set out plates of food, and told the apartment's VI to inform us if anyone tries to set up traps.

We decided to keep it casual. I've got my N7 jacket on with cargo pants and my combat boots. Kaidan has on a similar outfit with his Alliance Engineering t-shirt. Damn he looks good. We both stay fit for combat by hitting the gym each morning. It's hard work, but neither of us can bear the thought of getting too soft and finding ourselves in an emergency. After all, I've ran into trouble while attempting to get sushi in the past. The secondary benefit of our efforts is that he is still built for battle. He catches me admiring him and winks as he turns on the party music.

Our guests arrive quickly. Karin brought Serrice Ice Brandy and helps me hide it in my room to share later. Greg came in with her. Steve, James, Miranda, Jacob, and Jack bring drinks. Zaeed asks if we got rid of the “goddamn cool art”. Gabriela, Kenneth, and Samara trail in after. Samantha smiles and shows me her toothbrush. She brought it, just in case. She winks as she walks by. Kasumi tries to enter behind Samantha without us noticing, but I can feel her presence as she walks past. I say “All I ask is that you don’t steal my model ships or Kaidan’s omnitools.” She laughs, giving herself away. Wrex and Grunt both shout “Shepard!” as they come in, laughing and bumping into each other trying to clear the door. Tali and Garrus enter together, holding hands. Liara, Javik, and Glyph come in together with signed copies of their new book for everyone.

We were all together like this just one time after our extended shore leave. It was a celebration held by the Council in our honor, one year after we retook Earth and destroyed the Reapers. The Council had tried to keep some members of the crew out of the celebration (our ex-Cerberus and Krogan friends). I had told them if they didn’t allow every living member of my crew to attend that I wouldn’t go. They folded, and we all found ourselves at a fancy dress party with dozens of politicians. As soon as all the big, garbage speeches were over, we left and went out drinking together. It was fun, but bittersweet. I’ve seen everyone since then, but not all together like this.

I stand in the entryway and watch as all these wonderful people, my people, talk and catch up. Garrus walks over to me and puts his hand on my shoulder. “Shepard, good to see you. You having fun?”

“I know I’m being a bit of a wallflower, but it’s just so good to see everyone here and happy and safe.”

“Yeah, it feels like coming home.” Garrus smiles at me. “You going to come talk with everyone? Maybe grab a drink? Have some fun?”

“Oh, yeah. Sure thing.”

Garrus walks with me to the living room. Everyone is sitting on and around the couch, talking and laughing. As we approach, they all shout greetings and gesture for me to come closer. Liara trades me her spot on the couch and takes a spot on the floor instead. They all chat with ease. Occasionally, someone looks to me for input and I just nod or add something small and they keep going. I've never been good at talking with friends, especially in groups. I mostly just watch from the sidelines. I do that now more than I ever did before the war.

After a while, everyone starts breaking off into groups. I excuse myself for a moment and head into my room. With everyone back in the apartment like this, all I can think about is that one wonderful shore leave. There's a weight on my chest and it's so tight I can barely breathe. Suddenly, the whole galaxy is relying on me again. All my friends are in danger and I have to save them. I can't fail. I can't. Oh God, I'm going to die!

#mass effect #fanfic #shepard x kaidan #fshenko #f!shenko #shenko #shepard #commander shepard #female shepard #kaidan alenko

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joh-gaming · 7 years

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Watch Dogs 2 Critical Review

I don’t post many reviews of games here, mostly ‘cause you can find reviews everywhere and in any format. So why make one for Watch Dogs 2? Because they went the extra mile and they deserve more than what they got.

After the failure of the first game, it’s understandable why the sequel sold so poorly. Not even counting the amount of solid games that came out around the same time, but people have been burned by Ubisoft’s marketing far too many times. Take The Division, which I actually like and play, the downgrade wasn’t just in graphics but gameplay. It was far more interesting in the original trailer than what we ended up with. The Division is fun but also boring, and to a point you can say the same about Assassin’s Creed Syndicate (another game I like). Syndicate however has the benefit of having the twins, Evie and Jacob Frye are really fun characters and the Assassin’s Creed formula has its moments. But one thing was clear, Ubisoft was making cookie cutter missions in their open world games and that gets boring fast.

Finally they made a game that breaks away from the GTA clone Fed Ex formula (mostly anyway) and people weren’t buying it. Gaming sites were more concerned about getting hits, so while most of them praised the game, it was mostly as “it’s better than the first” which we all knew would be ‘cause that one was terrible. So why did I ignore the game? Well, to be honest it was Marcus. Don’t get me wrong, even without playing it I prefer Marcus over Aiden any day, but the promo videos kept showing Marcus as this dull character, and his clothes are something I wouldn’t wear even if I was cosplaying. I knew you could change clothes but have you seen the outfits they chose for the promo? he looks like a clown most of the time.

What I’m saying is, I couldn’t find myself in Marcus. Thankfully, they decided to offer that 3 hrs trial which I took. Played the hell out of the game to get a feel for the clothes, missions, characters and story. So I’m going to start my review with that, click keep reading if you’re interested.

The 3hrs Trial

OK so the first mission was kind of hard, but it was fun. Talk about a tutorial in the middle of a war zone and with a timer no less. (trial timer, not mission timer) I had to learn fast to make the most out of it. The script is... well have you seen TV shows lately? yea not great but not as bad as some people make it out to be. The gameplay was solid, animations were pretty good and graphics are impressive. I was unimpressed with the characters, even Sitara which I liked from the promo material. I did a couple of main missions, stole the Cyber Driver car, played some co-op missions and 1 of the events, opted out of PvP ‘cause I’m not interested in that. I don’t go to the Dark Zone in The Division either so yea, PvP is not my thing. I did a lot of the ATM side quests which are quite fun and funny. By the end of the trial I knew I really wanted this game. It was already on my list, but I was going to buy it as cheap as possible. I talked to my friends (the ones that played the trial with me) and we all liked it, they bought the game before I did but we all got it. Not only that but we bought the Gold Edition, which is still on sale at the time of this post.

Gold Edition

Why the Gold edition? Well, it comes with the Season Pass and it was $60 for the whole thing. So technically, it was finally priced right, the whole game for the price of a full game, I’m OK with that. It’s probably the only way I would recommend the season pass of any game.

Characters

Like I said before, during the 3hr trial I wasn’t impressed, but they slowly grew on me and I prefer that. In Life is Strange it was the same, I didn’t like Chloe until the third episode.

Marcus

Look at those clothes... wtf is that? He looks like TV static or something. Anyway, took a while but the guy grew on me thanks to moments like this one

youtube

Wish he had had more to do outside of doing the impossible. Also wish he had more interaction with Horatio.

Sitara

She’s cool, the Sombra of the group (a lot more serious though) and more of an artist than a hacker, even though she’s brilliant. She knows the power of a brand and works hard to turn Dedsec into “celebrities”. Just don’t wear a man bun in front of her.

Wrench

Cynical, sarcastic, weird af and with a short temper. This is Marcus’ best friend in the crew. Throws tantrums every now and then, I can relate to this guy a lot more, except for the thongs... yea... can’t relate to that.

Josh

The walking super computer, he is a bit stereotypical as well as cartoonish but I still like this guy a lot. There’s a lot of potential with this character.

Horatio

And Horatio, you barely get to talk to this guy and that’s a real shame. The few moments he had with Marcus were great. With the amazing animations and expressions, their funny scenes were actually funny.

I’m pretty sure this is the first time Ubisoft went with this approach on the characters. We’ve seen games where the companions are just as important as the main character, games like Mass Effect, Dragon Age, Fallout 4 and of course the Saints Row series. I can say this was just a few interactions short of being as good as Saints Row’s. I applaud Ubisoft for this and hope they keep evolving this part of their story telling, with gameplay to support it.

Gameplay

This game has variety, to the point where I haven’t tried everything it offers yet. Sure some of it is mundane, but I do love to have some mundane stuff in my open world games. As long as I don’t get a call from a cousin every 5 steps asking to go bowling. Still, the mundane stuff gives you an excuse to explore the beautifully crafted map. Same with the collectibles which help you unlock some skills later in the game.

They also added events, now since I locked my game as a single player experience (except when I join my friends in co-op) I’m not sure if the events are part of the co-op experience or if you have to open your game. You can choose to open it so that only friendly players show up in your session, however that doesn’t mean they won’t troll you, there are a lot of asses out there. But that’s another positive, the ability to lock the game as a single player experience or open its multiplayer options in ways that work for you. In any case I had a lot of fun with these events when playing with my friends. Especially one that has low tolerance for stealth (it was kind of hilarious as I was marking enemies and studying the locations, then suddenly he was blowing people up with traps)

I do recommend that if you don’t want to participate in PvP, that you turn off Bounty Hunter and Invasion but leave the friendly options open. Why? because even though there’s a chance trolls might find a way to hinder you, you also miss out on unscripted events that can only happen when some crazy dude has the cops or gangs on his tail. You can help them out or troll them yourself if that’s your kink.

One last thing, I know I’m keeping the gameplay details very vague but I prefer if you found out everything you can do in the game on your own, the drone and remote car are fantastic mechanics. I love it when a game introduces a mechanic that suddenly every game after it should build upon. Not unlike the Last of Us with their bow and on the fly crafting which was arguably improved by the competition in the Tomb Raider games.

Missed Opportunities

The game is VERY good as is, so if you can afford it, go ahead and buy it ‘cause unless you hate Open World Games, you should like this game a lot. Remember, there’s a 3hr free trial if you’re still unsure, it’s not a demo, it’s the full game and you have access to it for 3 hrs.

That being said, a few things could have turned this game from very good to great (at least in my opinion)

1- No way to donate money

A- can’t tip performers on the streets B- can’t give money to beggars C- can’t even donate to bank accounts of people you know have some kind of illness or problem

Sounds pointless, but if you do it often enough in a game, the reason why you did it may carry over to the real world. A pebble in a pond or whatever but I think it can work.

2- Chatting NPCs

A- it’s only used to deliver low level context B- should have an “affection” rating tied to it, even if the reward is some spray or clothing item C- can’t use intel from NPCs (unless scripted) to prepare better for a mission

You can talk to your crew and get their thoughts after every mission, but that’s ultimately pointless. I understand they didn’t want to lock people out of content, nor wanted to force people into something they didn’t want to do but hey, I didn’t talk to Garrus every single time after a mission and he still became one of my favorite characters of all time. Same with Liara and Tali.

3- Tone

A- too serious at times B- it should have been more about their branding, at least most of the game (it kind of is but they already have the main game’s goal from the start) C- after a particular story event, some missions should be locked for a substantial amount of in game time

Saints Row games know they are a parody and work with it. Yes they shift tone in a way. From being funny and satirical to Ling, Carlos, Gat and even you dying, but it still felt within the themes of the game. In Watchdogs 2 you can have a gang after you, then you’re joking about some stupid shit. It shifts too abruptly sometimes. It’s not annoying just something that could be ironed out in the future.

4- HQ Hackerspace

A- you have your main hideout in a game store and you didn’t Gwent it? B- no hideout customization C- Marcus can’t recruit for Dedsec

Seriously, why didn’t you make a game within a game? You could have made a table top game and go all Gwent with it. And not being able to customize at least one of the hideouts is kind of a first in a Ubisoft game. Also, for story purposes I wish that Marcus had his own recruits. This could have been a game of its own where you could recruit the wrong person and then having to deal with that. Of course this wouldn’t be scripted, the NPCs are out there, (I call them trigger NPCs) if you recruit those that are under cover or from P8 or whatever, then that’s on you.

5- Social Locations

A- no interesting NPCs in most of them B- they serve no purpose other than one interaction and as a fast travel point

Something could have been done with these, especially if tied to the whole Marcus being able to recruit for Dedsec thing. A little initiation or test could have been done here.

6- Canon vs Player Actions

A- Marcus can kill a lot of people if the player wants B- at one point in the story Marcus does kill some people but gets no reaction from the crew

This is the same problem I have with the new Tomb Raider games, killing is not a big deal for these characters. It should be, like I said with the change in tone. They are hackers kind of having fun exposing the big corporations and the corrupt. They like to feel like super heroes but then the game is designed to have lethal weapons that the player can use, which is fine, that’s a gamified action which doesn’t have to be canon. But when it does happen in the story I expect more, taking a life shouldn’t be as uneventful as changing clothes

7- Clothes

A- nobody cares what you wear once you buy pants B- changing your outfit doesn’t affect in any way the follower multiplier

When you start the game, right after your initiation, your first mission is to buy pants. People react to what you were wearing before, taking pictures and laughing at you. But that’s where it ends. Also when you buy your first set of clothes, your follower number (XP) rises, would be nice if it had some kind of multiplier tied to it. The only game I remember that went through with that was GTA San Andreas.

Disclaimer

No, I’m not a Ubisoft fanboy, in fact they piss me off sometimes. I signed up for The Division’s beta almost as soon as registrations were allowed but didn’t get a code. Which sure, I can see that you have a limited number of codes to give, but when it happens that you gave away codes to people that didn’t register, that’s when I get annoyed. I had to preorder the game to get in, I honestly was considering skipping the game entirely.

Thank you Ubisoft Montreal

On the chance that someone from Ubisoft is reading this, I want to thank everyone that worked on this game. It was a lot of fun and looking forward to more of it.

#watch dogs 2 #review #personal thoughts

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