#happychica

[cr-noble-writes]

2023 Mass Effect Fic Recs

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

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

Natural Fissures by happychica

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

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

Fugue by Swaps55

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

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

But they didn’t get those minutes.

Alchera, and the two year gap.  

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

Phoenix by mallaidhsomo

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

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

Descent by mallaidhsomo

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

Or, relationships are complicated.

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

An Unfortunately Sexy Man by missjlh

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

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

Volta by DanDenbo

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

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

Life Behind Enemy Lines by Otempora

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

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

---

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

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

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

Please enjoy!!

[theoriginalladya]

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

[bardofheartdive]

10 Gifs of 10 shows

I was tagged by @vulpixelates to post 10 gifs from 10 of my favorite shows and then tag 10 people. And I figured since I hadn't actually made a post in forever and a day, I would take the opprotunity! Here we go!!!

I will tag - only if you want to play - @alyssalenko, @cryptid-jack, @happychica, @humblydefiant, @theoriginalladya, @mallaidhsomo, @painterofhorizons, @ronqueesha, @shotce, and @vorchagirl.

[illusivesoul]

People you'd like to get to know better

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

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

My answers to the below prompts are below the cut!

Three Ships

Last Song

Last Film

Currently Reading

Currently Craving

.

Three Ships

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

OCs: Serena Brosca x Leliana

Manuel Rodriguez Shep x Cortez

Maiteh Lerras and Renata Barkas (da ocs)

Canon Characters: Leliana x Wynne

Aria x Jack

Blackwall x Ser Barris

Last Song: Nothing Matters - Dinner Party

Last Film: Avatar The Way of Water

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

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

[theheroofoakvale]

a gift commission for @happychica from @bardofheartdive 

[wrathbites]

Heads Up 7 Up

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

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

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

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

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

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

[urrone]

ten fandoms. ten characters. ten tags.

Tagged by @screwyouflightlieutenant​!

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

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

[cr-noble-writes]

What made you ship Jack/Traynor?

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

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

[theoriginalladya]

All's Fair - Chapter 4: Quoting the Morning

All's Fair

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

Chapter 4: Quoting the Morning

Excerpt:

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

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

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

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

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

Current Chapter || Read from Beginning || Read Series

[bardofheartdive]

Writer vs OC

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

Me (THEY HAD A SUSHI HAND!!!)

Javi | Mara | Wyatt

[bardofheartdive]

@happychica

[illusivesoul]

Was tagged by @quietborderline Thank you :) I'll tag @vulpixelates @elleweird @ghostxofxartemis and @happychica . Only if you feel like doing this, of course. Bold which you prefer. painting or photography // dusk or dawn // spring or autumn // movies or tv shows // chocolate or nutella // audiobooks or podcasts // card games or board games // fiction or nonfiction // cookies or brownies // dragons or unicorns // bath or shower // blue or yellow // rollercoasters or bumper cars // iced tea or hot tea // left side of bed or right side of bed  // zip-up hoodie or pullover hoodie // straight hair or curly hair // gummy worms or gummy bears // rain or snow // sneakers or flip-flops // bowling or mini-golf // pasta or pizza

[wrathbites]

Heads up 7 up

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

"Repeat your last, Commander?"

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

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

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

[ghostxofxartemis]

I would love to know more about Leah Shepard. She seems a little prickly, but who doesn't love a grumpy OC?

Hehe she is the grumpiest of grumpy Shepards and I will die on this hill.

Leah is my Colonist/Ruthless Shepard. I know, cliché background. She wasn't always grumpy. She used to be so down to earth, she'd always have that smile that would brighten everyone's day. She was a happy-go-lucky kind of gal. She knew what she wanted, she wanted her own ranch and teach children how to ride horses.

Her and her BF Adam were household names, everyone knew they'd end up together, marry, have a household full of kids.

Then the attack happen, and she lost everything, everyone.

She hears them before she hears the gunfire go off. She hears a grunt and sees her mother falling next to her.

"Mom!" She pauses in her tracks before backtracking and bending down next to her mother. Hannah is clutching at her wound, shaking, the blood seeps through her fingers. There's so much blood. "Mom please get up!" Leah cries.

Hannah's white shirt now stained red, "Leah, take your brothers and go." Her breath is ragged, she struggles to speak. She places her hand on Leah's cheek. "Do what you can to survive. Protect Mickey and Daniel."

“Mom! Please, you have to get up! I can’t do this alone!” Leah places her hand over her mother’s.

Hannah wipes the tears from her daughter’s face smearing some blood on her cheeks at the same time. “Go, Leah. I love you,” are her last words she says before life slips away and her hand slumps to the ground from Leah’s cheek.

“Leah! We have to go” Michael pulls at Leah’s sleeve.

She places Hannah’s hand on her mother’s chest before stumbling back to her feet and taking Michael and Danie by the hand, leading them away. Their breath is raspy as they run as fast as they can but Daniel’s asthma slows them down. “Mickey keep going! Head to the cliff and then make for the cave!”

“What are you doing?!” He demands, turning to look at his big sister. She shrugs the backpack off and helps Daniel shrug into the straps.

At some point she'll even witness horrible things happen to Adam and his family, that haunt her for a very long time. She'll wake up in the middle of the night with cold sweats after this.

But it's also the lost of her siblings that haunt her.

Micheal leads the way, having gained some distance while Leah picked up Daniel. Leah keeps an eye on him while she follows behind. When did Daniel get so big?! She swears just yesterday she hadn’t had this much trouble giving him a piggyback.

Her legs burn as she runs. She picks a point of focus, trying to ignore the pain as she keeps running, pushing herself to go to her limits. Her breath is ragged and her lungs burn as she tries to inhale oxygen.

She hears more gunfire from behind them and Micheal falls seconds later.

“Nooooo! Mickey!” Leah cries and runs to him.

She takes a knee beside him rolling him onto his back. Blood already stains the grass around him. His blue eyes stare up at her, lifeless, a hole in his forehead.

She muffles her cries by covering her mouth with both hands.

“Lee-Lee?”

Daniel’s worried cry snaps her back to reality. Getting to her feet she continues to run for the cliff.

These snippets are just very rough draft of what I'm working on for her Mindoir story. But this is part of the reason she's so grumpy. She pushes everyone away because she fears another situation like this. Getting too close to others means more ways of getting hurt. Have her enemy use people she loves against her in order to blackmail and get what they want. If she doesn't have anyone close then there's nothing her enemy can use against her. This way, she can make the hard calls, like sacrificing her whole team on Torfan to kill the batarians and save a colony. She had no feelings for her team so they couldn't be used against her.

Even her team on the Normandy, she refuses to let her self get close to them. And that's why she's mad about having feeling for Kaidan, she let her guard down. She's mad at herself for failing on keeping her word.

Not only is she mad at herself for falling in love with Kaidan, but she's terrified of what could be done to him, to lose him. Cerberus putting him in danger on Horizon is exactly what she feared and do on Horizon, in her universe, she's the one to push Kaidan away. She'll hurt him the only way she knows how and is to confirm her working with the enemy. By everyone thinking he hates her, she's able to keep him safe. Although it pains her, it's better than feeling like she died on Mindoir all over again. She would rather live knowing he hates her than live knowing that she was responsible for his death.

The Alliance trained her to be a weapon and that's what she sees herself as now. Lee-Lee died on Mindoir with her family, she's Commander Leah Shepard now. The girl she once knew is dead. A ghost that walks the field of the dead.

[guchaigue]

commission for @happychica 😊

[swaps55]

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

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

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

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

One-shots

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Not knowing anything is the most frustrating thing of all.

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

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

Kaidan takes care of what's underneath the armour.

Long Fics

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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