#callista-curations

[milkywayes]

dreamt a cipher

a shepard/garrus post-destroy ending longfic.

[AO3 link]

I’ve debated a while about when to start posting this. Now it’s the new year, and I’ve been working on Cipher for over a year and a half, and I’ve waited long enough to start sharing it with you all. I’ve decided it’s finally time to start uploading while I work on the final chapters.

I started writing this before I ever drew a single piece of fanart for Mass Effect. It’s all the things that were bouncing around in my head after choosing the destroy ending with a mostly-paragon Shepard—consequence and responsibility and self-recrimination; her relationship with Garrus and with herself; their ties to each other and how much weight they can bear; their differing perspectives and how they slot together—all that fun stuff—compressed into a story, a place, a narrative. 

I believe in the power of love, and I promise a happy ending. They’ve just been taking the long way to get there. Feel free to yell at me in the meantime.

A huge thank you to @callista-curations for her meticulous and invaluable beta work, and to @that-wildwolf and @gammaraydeath for being the best hypemen I could ask for!

A more detailed list of warnings can be found on AO3.

I've posted the full cover art here.

────

Summary:

Pairing: Female Shepard/Garrus Vakarian Rating: M (subject to change) Important Tags: post-destroy ending - angst with a happy ending - slow burn (of sorts) - arguing - reconciliation - survivor guilt - minor original characters Her own personal Noverian peak. That’s what it was supposed to be. Nothing but the discovery: no distractions, no comfort, no windows looking out—no familiar faces. But it's starting to look like her winning streak might have ended in that pile of Citadel rubble, if it ever extended that far to begin with. ──── “How does the Earth idiom go? No use beating a dead—” A long-suffering sigh. “What was it again?” “A dead horse. And yet, you’re here. Beating it.” Pot, kettle. She wishes he’d just fucking say it.

-> AO3.

Read the start of Chapter 1: Constant Velocity under the cut!

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The overhead lights flicker as they always do when the data screens are up and running. It’s not something one gets used to, even so. It stings at her ocular nerves—or something like that, anyway, somewhere along the delicate wires that extend from her eyeballs into her brain—but her focus on the data doesn’t waver.

“In that case,” says Shepard, squinting against the ache, “what we need is salvage from a relay outside the immediate burst zone. Four jumps away. Five, if possible. There’s no point to any of this if we can’t scrape together a control group.”

She glances back at Elsawy, who so far hasn’t made it more than a meter into the room. She nods without looking up from her omni-tool; orange shimmers off her shiny, black hair, giving her the uncomfortable air of a Cerberus operative. Not the worst comparison, except that Miranda would waste no time letting her know if her logic took a faulty turn somewhere. Elsawy’s just as likely to agree now and write a message detailing all her crap conclusions later.

Leaning her hip against the conference table, Shepard shifts her weight off her left leg, bites down on the sigh that almost manages to slip out. Once in the clear, she grouses, “Where the hell is Meyer? He’s the one that called this meeting.”

As it is, it’s three people in attendance and she’s the only one talking. She could’ve achieved the same results with a voice call from her quarters, where she could elevate her leg in peace and without witnesses. In the dark.

“Lab Two,” answers Elsawy, finally ripping her attention off the omni-screen and gracing Shepard with a second of eye contact. Maybe in another life she could appreciate the effort—Jesus, as if she hasn’t had her fill of lives already. “We’re close to a breakthrough on the initial output patterns. Sorry. He’s been feeding his data to me.”

“Right.” She blinks once, twice, in time with the flickering. It doesn’t help; it never does. “I’ll swing by later, then. Anything else he asked you to relay?” 

“Just that, Commander.” Elsawy is mumbling just enough that her voice has to compete with the drone of the air vents. The translator takes a second to filter out and amplify it. The result is less than perfect: “More salvage—” bzzrt—“bigger picture, you got it.” She narrows her eyes, and Shepard raises a brow. “Left leg or—” bzz!—“left hip?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Commander.”

“It’s nothing relevant,” she says pleasantly, forcing herself to stand up straight again. There’s a brief tremor shaking up her hamstrings; she waves a hand to distract from it. In the frenzy of the lights, the movement looks jerky, nervous. She soldiers on. “Old field injury. Unrelated. Anything can set it off.”

Funny, kind of, since it’s that very leg that ends in the most perfect, cooperative example of a foot she’s ever had the pleasure of treading on. It’s cloned; a replacement. Not the only one either. They should’ve just done away with the whole limb, but she hadn’t been consulted. Same with her trick shoulder. Not even Cerberus had managed to get that one back on the straight and narrow.

“I’d rather you bring it up with the doctor,” replies Elsawy. This is, apparently, what it takes for her to finally speak at a reasonable volume. “If we manage to fill even one of the data gaps…”

“I know,” she says. “I know, and I’m telling you, it’s unrelated.”

-> continue reading on AO3

[gammaraydeath]

thanks for the tag @archangel-kazz!

These are the rules: You gotta shuffle your ‘on repeat’ playlist and then post the first 10 songs, then tag 10 friends so they do the same!

mostly house/chill :) but i feel that this isn't very representative of what i tend to listen to every day LOL

blue everyday - good luck remix by kleinefrigo/good luck

by your side by teethe

nightwalk by stove

don't by spirit of the beehive

cinnamon kiss by nuclear daisies

subside by upper class

smile again by she's green

so cold in koreatown by sleepyeyes

intrusive by untitled (halo)

behind closed doors by casyette/kid brunswick

if you don't have spotify or an equivalent feature on your music app im sorreeee

@lilmissnatcat24 @holyshonks @callista-curations @that-wildwolf @milkywayes @painterofhorizons @jaina-lyn @moranit @shepsfishtank @lostcryptids

[jaina-lyn]

Tagged by @continuous-spec

Rules: post the last line you wrote and tag someone for every word in the line.

Most of it had turned to meaningless background chatter over the last couple of weeks.

I don't know 14 people well enough to tag them, but here goes 🫠

@gammaraydeath @luciferbacon @thismotherloverrighthere @that-wildwolf @milkywayes @whiskynorocks @painterofhorizons @callista-curations @ferniliciousness

[archangel-kazz]

10 things for 10 people you'd like to know better!

Alright, so @luciferbacon tagged me. I really appreciate it! And I'll do my best to share with you all!

Last Book: The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon (but I also started reading the Blacksad comics by Juan Díaz Canales and Juanjo Guarnido. Both are highly recommended!)

Last movie: The Lord of the Rings Trilogy! Will never get tired of watching it!

Last TV show: The Office

Sweet/Savory/Spicy: A little bit of all, but definitely enjoy the sweet more

Relationship status: Still single

Last Thing I Googled: Destiny 2 fashion ideas

Current Obsession: I'd say WH40K, but there's definitely a lot of other stuff: like the new ME game, Destiny 2, my favorite ME dorks in love (Shep and Garrus), other ships I like, Destiny 2, etc.

Looking Forward To: That's another long list, but for now I want to go to another concert after just going to my first concert ever (Baby Metal, Slipknot)

Last song: "Would You Fall in Love with Me Again" for EPIC: The Musical (I just heard it on IG, and I swear it was like an angst bomb to the face for a Shakarian fic!)

Tagging: @vakarianshepard @milkywayes @squigglysquidd @topaz-carbuncle @dispatchwithlove @ballofbitter @olivethemushrooms @ladynyxeris @callista-curations @serendipitys-teapot

I'd tag a lot of people, but well, the name says only ten haha!

[stormikins]

WIP Whenever/Last Line

got tagged by @callista-curations thank you!!!

more mshakarian because i am deep in them right now. a new piece where they get together before Ilos instead of the collector base

“Why are you here, Garrus?” “I just want to make sure you have everything you need.” “Why does it feel that’s not all you want?” “Well, uh,” Garrus coughs, ducks his head a little. “Right before high stakes missions, turian crews normally do some stress release.” Shepard lets that settle. Garrus being incredibly awkward, the staring he’s caught from the man over the course of the mission. “Oh my god, do turians hold orgies before missions?” “What!?” Garrus’ whole body reacts with his outburst, mandibles going wide and body jolting a little. Sheard hunches over as he cackles. “No! We do not— no. Spirits.” When Shepard looks to him again, he’s turned away, a hand on his hip and the other on his brow. It makes Shepard laugh harder.

I'm tagging anyone who sees this and wants to participate!! No matter if its for mass effect or not, I will want to see it so please take this as permission

[zet-sway]

wip wheneveR

hello tumblr it's saturday morning and @jtownnn tagged me in a wip meme so here's some shrios i wrote an indeterminate amount of time ago that I'm still picking at with a stick and barely making progress on

A massive fireball blooms slowly around a pinprick of silver. Like a dream. A nightmare. A catalyst of changing tide. Above the noise of gunfire and shouting, the thundering roar of armageddon rises. His rifle falls to his side, his hands clasped, lips moving in prayer. He can't look away.  

The light erupts like a vengeful god. And at its heart - Shepard. There is no fathomable reason he should believe it's her, but he knows. He can feel her rage and grief, magnified by the tears of every harvested soul that came before; by the ocean that took her, but could not hold her. She encompasses the battlefield in a sea of fire, lightning streaking across a reddened sky.

Siha.

What follows is the shriek of twisting metal. The earthshaking crash of machines toppling lifeless to the ground. Soldiers shoving past him. A choking wave of pulverized steel, earth, and bodies as they fall.

One by one, the goddess pulls grains of sand from beneath his heels. He is sinking.

Kalahira have mercy on us all.

i'm tagging @impishbiscuit @callista-curations @angstyastro @quietonewisp but no pressure, just for funsies

[messydiabolical]

Mass Effect Tag Game

I was tagged by @illusivesoul, thank you! <3 I'll tag in @shadowthehedgehog1 @angstyastro @zet-sway @stormikins @bluerose5 @jtownnn @yellingaboutmasseffect @callista-curations @impishbiscuit @spookyvalentine @skittidyne @jadevakarian But I could be tagging all day so please everyone join in if you'd like and no worries if you don't!

Here's the blank questions, and my answers are below the cut!

I am a fan since: Favourite game of the series?: MShep or FShep?: Earthborn, Colonist or Spacer?: Biotics or Tech: Paragon or Renegade: Favourite Class: Favourite Companion: Least favourite Companion: My squad selection: Favourite In-game romance: Other pairings I like: Favourite NPC: Favourite Antagonist: Favourite Mission: Favourite Loyalty Mission: Favourite DLC: Control, Synthesis or Destroy: Favourite Weapon: Favourite Place: A quote I like:

My answers:

I am a fan since:Legendary Edition release (better late than never!)

Favourite game of the series?:2 wins overall, due to how much I loved learning about the new companions and all their little side quests and the excitement of prepping for the big mission. 3 has the best overall mechanics though, and the npc’s being able to banter is top notch.

MShep or FShep?: Both, but I tend to create themsheps anyway.

Earthborn, Colonist or Spacer?:Keahi is a colonist, Blaise a spacer AU. I think all the backgrounds have juicy potential but find the idea of growing up out there in this big new galaxy exciting. 

Biotics or Tech:Probably tech for my sheps, but I love having a biotic in the squad as backup. I’ll usually have 1 biotic ability as my Shep’s bonus and chalk it up to funky side effects of how they resurrected Shep in 2.

Paragon or Renegade:Generally paragon but some renegade interrupts.

Favourite Class:Infilitrator. Sniper Rifles are always my fave (or archers in fantasy games).

Favourite Companion: Such a tough question. As there’s a romance question later, i’ll save Thane for then. I’m also going to answer as me rather than who my shep’s would pick. I think Mordin is honestly the companion I got most excited about going to chat with or hearing unique lines from. And while not ‘companions’, I have such soft spots for Traynor and Cortez and consider them honourary squaddies.

Least favourite Companion:I mean there are plenty who I think have questionable morals/ideas/attitudes, but it doesn’t make me dislike them, it makes them interesting and gives fresh perspectives, so this is also a tough question. I feel bad for saying it, but I guess Liara? Only in that she gets so much priority in 1 and 3 but I don’t find her as interesting to chat with compared to others and also found her going from nerdy excitable anxious dork in 1 to ‘flay your mind’ corpo bad bitch in 2 gave me whiplash. The fact she sold shep’s body is another point deducted. And the way she let Shepard drop like hot shit in shadowbroker too, oof. I really don’t dislike her though and still find her overall character interesting.

My squad selection:I change it up a lot so I get to hear all the different things they have to say

Favourite In-game romance:Thane, followed by Steve Cortez and Samantha Traynor. Is anyone surprised?!

Other pairings I like:Feron x Kolyat, Thane X Cortez (why romance them separately when I can put them together instead!) Femshep x Miranda. I tend to headcanon my shep’s as older than the in game age so Jack feels too young for them, but I do love the Jack romance generally. 

Favourite NPC:That one completely chill smoking salarian in the citadel DLC. Dandenbo’s icon always makes me grin reminding me of him. Also the salarian Thane rescued who had his whole world rocked and wrote an email about it. You go you funky little horny guy.

Favourite Antagonist:TIM is interesting because you get that having to work together and resenting the hell out of it aspect in 2. And look he’s by no means an effective antagonist, but Donovan Hock is objectively very funny.

Favourite Mission:The suicide mission. It isn’t the best mechanically, but it’s very satisfying after working towards it the whole game and getting yourself as ready as can be.

Favourite Loyalty Mission:Thane, i’m biased. Grunt’s rite of passage is also just fun.

Favourite DLC:I’ll go with 1 from each game. Bring down the sky- I just find something pretty satisfying about pootling around shutting the 3 rockets off and finding all the little out the way side bits. And that view! Lair of the Shadowbroker- Feron my beloved. Gotta save my boy. Leviathan- felt like a breath of fresh air with the piecing together clues, and such a great creepy atmosphere. You really finish it feeling like ‘this may help, but at what cost?’ and it feels significant.

Control, Synthesis or Destroy:So funny story, I got so confused the first time I played and kind of panicked, completely missed that you could choose to run a different direction and just ran full pelt forwards yeeting shepard to the centre. When that activated synthesis I spent the next 40 odd minutes watching my computer in growing utter horror/confusion. Anyway destruction is the actual choice but fuck that whole ‘this has to genocide the geth and Edi’ thing fuuuuuck.

Favourite Weapon:Upgrading to the widow is nice but I am quite fond of the M-97 Viper in earlier/lower levels, the 6 shot mag is especially favourable.

Favourite Place:I really love the brutalist architecture of Port Hanshan.

A quote I like:

I dare to assume you ignorant jackasses know that space is empty. Once you fire this hunk of metal, it keeps going til it hits something. That can be a ship, or the planet behind that ship. It might go off into space and hit somebody in 10,000 years. If you pull the trigger on this, you are ruining someone’s day, somewhere and sometime!

[that-wildwolf]

Get to know your fanfic writer!

Thank you @callista-curations for tagging me!

When did you post your first ever fanfic?

Circa 2008 I think. Let me tell you those were the wild days. FF.n wasn't really that popular and AO3 straight up didn't exist yet. You would make a whole ass entire blog. And you would post your fic on that blog. And people actually found that shit???? Wouldn't work now.

First Character(s) you wrote?

OCs actually, in the PJO fandom. I don't really enjoy writing OCs now but that's what was cool back then 😅 The first canon characters I wrote were Sarah Jane and the Doctor from Doctor Who.

Main Character(s) you're currently writing?

Well I've always got that Shakarian brainrot, don't I? Also like. Saren and Nihlus I guess.

Character(s) you haven't written about before but plan to soon?

Jolyne and Jotaro Kujo! I've still lowkey got that Eyes of Heaven brainrot, and isn't it cool to write characters that are biologically parent and child as having a sibling relationship, but I'm aware that the target audience of that fic would be uh. me. so I'm not in a rush.

Fandom(s) you're currently writing?

It's mostly mass effect. Even the WIPs I have of other fandoms are scarce among my mass effectses.

Platonic Pairing(s) you're currently writing?

Jotaro and Jolyne, definitely. Shepard and Saren is always a lot of fun to write, though my Kryterius fic mostly focuses on Shepard and Nihlus. Also fun, but not as much.

Romantic Pairing(s) you're currently writing?

Shakarian and Kryterius. I mean what did you expect? a magic trick?

Your top AO3 tags?

Interspecies Relationship(s) absolutely sweeping at 32 fics. Followed by Fluff (19 fics) and Post-Canon (18 fics). Like I said I have no idea where this idea that I'm an angst writer came from, I'm all about the fluff--

Current platform you use for posting?

I guess I might as well officially say that since finishing up my first contact Shakarian AU two years ago, I am no longer posting my fics on FF.n anymore. It's all AO3 now.

Snippet of the WIP you are currently working on?

"Saren." Nihlus is immediately at his side, one hand on his cowl and another grabbing his good arm. "Saren, you're not going to die. I'm getting you out of here. I swear."

"Shepard will never allow that."

"She doesn't have a say in this. You're my responsibility." Nihlus nearly growls at the thought of anyone getting in the middle of that. After everything he's done, the Council will have to agree if he asks. Damn what Shepard thinks. "She doesn't have the authority."

"Nihlus..." Saren shakes his head at him. His subvocals, as always, remain infuriatingly silent, but Nihlus has learned to read his body language to make up for that. He doesn't like what he's seeing: Saren's eyes are completely vacant of any emotion and his shoulders drooped. There's nothing left in him, no fight, no hope. He's given up already.

And that's something Nihlus can't accept.

“I’m getting you out of here,” he promises again. This time, he receives absolutely no reaction.

It nearly breaks his heart to leave now, but he has to. He has to get Saren out of this as quickly as possible, he can’t allow this to go on. So he quietly slips out, silently hoping that Saren isn’t looking. He wouldn’t bear to have that hopeless gaze on himself right now.

Shepard is waiting for him just outside the holding cells. Of course she is. Nihlus doubts she would ever allow anyone to make a decision about Saren that she didn't approve, or at least know, of.

Which is probably going to make things very difficult for him from now on.

"You can release him," he says simply.

Shepard, to her credit, doesn’t say a word. She just looks at him like he's just done the worst thing she could imagine. In all honesty, the flicker of rage, disappointment, and disapproval that lit up her eyes almost made him pause.

She slowly shakes her head and walks away without as much as a single look back. Nihlus isn’t sure how he feels about that.

He just hopes he hasn't just made an enemy he won’t be able to deal with later on.

Tagging (but you guys know my tags are no pressure. I won't be upset if you don't do it.) @whiskynorocks @milkywayes and @nicolasadrabbles

[outpost51]

Teaser Tuesday

I didn’t post anything on Sunday anyway so thx for the tag @callista-curations (on my main blog) bc for ONCE I have something soft, just a small break in the clouds lmAO

Dad knew we were coming. I knew Dad would be waiting for us at the usual docking bay. Rima also knew, and her transport arrived right as we stepped into the harsh sunlight of a Taetran afternoon. Maybe it was because I’d thought he was angry with me, or because I didn’t believe I didn’t dream the whole thing up, I wasn’t expecting the taller, slightly-leaner carbon copy of Dad that was real and tangible even after I tried to blink away the ghost. I almost didn’t recognize him — I couldn’t remember the last time he smiled that big for anything, and in that moment, that smile was for me, as were his open arms. “Nico!” I screamed, uncaring of the looks it drew as I took a running leap into his embrace. He squeezed me tight and spun me around and around and then grabbed my arms and shook me — not hard, but enough. “You are such a shit,” Nico scolded. “Runnin’ off like that.” His anger vanished as quickly as it came, though, replaced by wobbly mandibles and a harsh sob that he buried in my hoodie. “I was an asshole too, though. Wasted years—” “Don’t,” I whispered. “Please, don’t.” Quinn was rubbing off on me, it seemed. And rubbing my shoulder, I noticed, and tilted my head to rest my cheek on her knuckles. “You’re the one that likes Blasto, right?” she asked, doing what she did best: lightening the tension. Nico wiped his face off on his sleeve and sniffed up the rest of his emotional outburst. “Yeah, that’s me,” he answered. “The one whose headphones she stole, too.” “You’re not gettin’ ‘em back either,” I quipped, sticking out my tongue. He pushed it back into my mouth and I bit his finger. Just like old times. “Got a new pair, anyway, fuck, that hurt. Dad! Atria bit me!” Big hands looped under my arms and lifted me into the cowl I used to call home. “Well, don’t stick your hands near her mouth and you won’t get bit,” Dad chuffed. Cigarette smoke and gun oil wrapped me in a secondary hug — no whiskey. “Hope you girls brought your walkin’ shoes. Ain’t far enough to waste the gas.”

tagging: @sparatus @thetrashbagswasteland @writernopal @sergeantnarwhalwrites @starlit-hopes-and-dreams @teamdilf @void-botanist @vacantgodling -- feel free to hop on this as an open tag too!

[milkywayes]

Tagged by @continuous-spec and @jaina-lyn! yay!

actually got me writing a little. happy valentine’s >:)

Rules: post the last line you wrote and tag someone for every word in the line.

The only thing that goes to pieces is the distance and the broken note he gasps, felt and tasted more than heard—the opening she needed.

i do not know enough writers for this lol. tagging @lilmissnatcat24 @vakarianshepard @dulcidyne @dispatchwithlove @easternpine @corpocyborg @callista-curations @kalliesa @meredithalden @mostmagical if you’ve got something to share 👀

[gammaraydeath]

10 things for 10 people you'd like to know better!

tagged by a few people honestly, @luciferbacon, @thefloatingstone, and @vakarianshepard at least 😅 if i forgot someone else who tagged me im so sorry 🙏

Last Book: been absolutely terrible at reading lately, i genuinely do not remember :(

Last movie: revenge of the sith! been on a bit of a star wars kick

Last TV show: star wars rebels - mostly just have it on in the background since i've seen it before

Sweet/Savory/Spicy: sweet!

Relationship status: ∠( ᐛ 」∠)∟ why u interested

Last Thing I Googled: kaomojis to find above^ LMFAO

Current Obsession: mass effect and more specifically garrus and ro <3333

Looking Forward To: taking an edible to force myself to relax

Last song: perchance to dream from halo ce :) i love halo soundtracks so much

tagging @lilmissnatcat24 @holyshonks @callista-curations @that-wildwolf @milkywayes :)

[jaina-lyn]

10 things for 10 people you'd like to know better!

I was tagged by @luciferbacon - took me a while, whoopsies

Last Song: Amnesia - Miracle of Sound

Last Book: Star Wars Specter of the past by Timothy Zahn (reading) and Men at Arms by Terry Pratchett (audiobook)

Last Movie: idk, been ages since I watched one

Last TV Show: Arcane season 2/LoVM season 3 (when they aired)

Sweet/Savoury/Spicy: savoury

Relationship Status: single

Last Thing I Googled: english book titles

Current Obsession: dunno, too tired of everything to be obsessed about anything rn

Looking Forward To: my next dnd sessions

Tagging: @thismotherloverrighthere @whiskynorocks @that-wildwolf @gammaraydeath @continuous-spec @painterofhorizons @callista-curations @ferniliciousness @milkywayes

[engrambug]

OC vs. Creator

This is the picrew! it seems that my V and I share a love of knives. Tagged by @merge-conflict (thanks!) and I'm tagging @whiskynorocks, @callista-curations, @starhoppcr and whoever else wants to do it! (no pressure, and tag me too as tagged by <3)

[stormikins]

Wip whenever!

Tagged by the wonderful @jtownnn thank you!

No pressure tags: @callista-curations @commander-krios @spacebunshep and anyone else who wants to share something! Make sure to tag me in it!

—

“Come on, what’s with the face?” Shepard prompts.

Garrus is still glowering as he suddenly reaches out to grasp his jaw with one hand, tilting Shepard’s head so he can get a better look at the cut on his temple. Shepard freezes, not at all prepared for the knowledge of how big Garrus’ hand is on his face. “You’re too reckless.”

He grins with bloody teeth. “Hell of a light show, though.”

“You already have my attention, Shepard,” Garrus mutters, eyes unmoving from the injury. He either doesn’t notice or doesn’t care about Shepard’s expression going shocked. He slightly shakes Shepard’s head and meets his eyes. “You need to stop being idiotic. I don’t want you dying on me. Again.”

Shepard grapples for the banter that normally comes so easy to him. “Just means it’ll be easier to come back.”

Garrus snorts and lets go of his head. “Right. I’d rather not take my chances with that.”

“What would you take your chances with?”

Garrus merely tilts his head to the side, eyes locked on his for a long moment. He turns away without saying anything.

[jtownnn]

wip whenever

@shivunin & @rowanisawriter tagged me almost a week ago, and my family was in town and I was busy but I didn't miss it! here's garrus having a moment:

Far, far too late, he realized: he wasn’t brave enough to face this head on. Months earlier, lost in a haze of pain and grief, it had made sense for him to reach out to his old contacts. He had begged for information, desperately attempting to make sense out of what had happened to him on Omega. Answers wouldn’t bring back his team, couldn’t wash the blood from his hands, but he had been convinced they might help. At the very least, he wanted to know what had happened to Sidonis’s body; the man deserved to be laid to rest with respect, same as the others had. 

But that was then, and this was now. Now, when had he plans to make breakfast for a handsome quarian marine; now, when they were a scant handful of weeks away from determining the fate of the galaxy. He had thought he wouldn’t be able to live without answers, but the truth was— 

“No,” he said out loud. “I changed my mind, Savasi. Thank you for getting the information I wanted, but I don’t want to know.” 

tagging @stormikins / @callista-curations / @bripops / @zombolouge / @bickeringcrab back <3

[ferusaurelius]

Get to know your fanfic writer!

I was tagged by @callista-curations and actually got to the end of the week with a bit of energy for once, so... here we go. ;)

When did you post your first ever fanfic?

The first EVER was on ff.net probably around 2000-2004? For a friend, for an obscure show nobody's heard of. My first fic I posted for myself was 2020.

First Character(s) you wrote?

I actually wrote original characters in the Mass Effect fandom. My short thought experiment on machine translation.

Main Character(s) you’re currently writing?

Nihlus Kryik, David Anderson, Commander Rentola

Character(s) you haven’t written about before but plan to write about soon?

Nyreen Kandros, Ashley Williams. Though they might take a bit since I'm still kinda marinating on what I want to do there.

Fandom(s) you’re currently writing?

Mass Effect! Hyperfixation fandom, go! (I write meta posts for Our Flag Means Death, but do not intend to write fic.)

Platonic pairing(s) you’re currently writing?

Commander Rentola and Ashley Williams

Romantic pairing(s) you’re currently writing?

Nihlus Kryik/Saren Arterius, David Anderson/Saren Arterius (yep!).

Your top AO3 tags?

Romantic Comedy (LOL). Good job, barfics!

Current platform you use for posting?

AO3. I've read a bunch of fic for different fandoms over the years and I'm pleased to be able to contribute when I have the energy.

Snippet of the WIP you are currently working on?

So bar!fics are going to have a long!fic sequel. Keep in mind I AM A SLOW WRITER with multiple wips, to the point where the 'easy' one-shots get published first.

I'm not sure about POV or pacing, but it'll be in a different voice and tone than the originals and have actual mission-oriented plot and some developing relationship stuff.

If you don't want spoilers, I've put it below the cut. ;)

This is a Very Rough high-level outline of a fragment of the entire plot, because my 'other' current WIP is maybe gonna be a nano project. I have various wip possibilities dueling it out for my attention and will see you in December. xD

Normally I would tag a few people to play (and if you feel like playing and you are reading this, IT IS YOU WHO IS TAGGED xD), but specifics are beyond my brain tonight.

Outline time~

Saren entertains Nihlus with his own history and experience of the Skyllian Verge, as well as being a sort of guide to the full intelligence picture, as he understands it.

Nihlus (with a snap of intuition) puts together that something bigger and more urgent than Saren thinks is happening or likely to happen, and it makes him restless and want to investigate immediately, because what if his intuition is right?

Saren insists that Nihlus should go as soon as his ankle’s recovered. He has his own authority.

Nihlus declines to ‘rush’ into something and presents an alternative of walking Saren through his process and treats this as a getting-to-know you thought exercise to keep Saren distracted from how fucking miserable the detox process is.

Saren and Nihlus together, working the problem over food and no access to other sources of information beyond what they can recall, come up with a terrible plan.

Nihlus can infiltrate the merc group by having a public falling-out with Saren.

Saren can get sent to hunt down “Rogue Spectre” Nihlus in the Verge.

Nihlus treats this seriously and starts workshopping different options while Saren is getting increasingly agitated about the whole concept of the frame-up.

Saren: I can’t ask you to do this.

Nihlus: Fine, you’re not asking. I’m volunteering.

Saren: I don’t know if I can let you do this.

Nihlus: It’s my decision.

Saren: -can’t dispute this, even if he doesn’t like it-

Saren: -eventually agrees, though he doesn’t like it-

Saren: Alternatives.

They come up with others that have less advantage in discretion, timing, or access.

Saren is forced to admit that Nihlus’s idea about infiltrating a group directly is the best one, since it allows them the most flexibility in cover story and depth of access. Plus, Nihlus is marked.

Saren: I’ve never asked.

Nihlus: -tells him-

Nihlus: What are you going to need for your part to work?

Saren: You, eyes open, and no hesitation. Trust me to manage my end no matter what you hear or what happens.

Nihlus: -kinda loves this about Saren- With my life.

Saren: It may come to that.

Nihlus: We’ll worry about that when it happens.

It will happen.

Saren: A better medical regimen.

Nihlus: I’ve never asked.

Saren: -tells him-

... and that's all you get to see for now. xD Be intrigued! Be very intrigued. If you can guess what canon event this is gonna be AU for, you get bonus points. ;)