#shepard & victus

[madamedramatics]

We all have our favorite love interests but can you name a Mass Effect character that you will never see as romance material no matter how much the fandom tries to sell it to you?

I'll go first.

Don't shoot me but...Definitely Wrex. That's big bro to me. Love him to to bits though❤️

[sailforvalinor]

Shepard: “Hey, Victus, you wanna tell me about this BOMB that’s about to explode on Tuchanka?”

Primarch Victus: “Oh, right, the bomb. The bomb on Tuchanka. The bomb chosen specially to blow up Tuchanka. Tuchanka’s bomb. That bomb?”

Shepard: “Yes! That bomb!”

Primarch Victus: “Can’t, sorry.”

[kaidanalenkosprmanager]

THE BEST OF THE NORMANDY SUMMIT

Featuring: Cmdr. Sophie Shepard, Primarch Adrien Victus, Dalatrass Linron, and Urdnot Wrex With: Comm. Specialist Samantha Traynor Commander, you need to keep Cerberus at bay- I can't overstate what a victory a treaty between the Turians and the Krogan would be for the Alliance. We need all the help we can get... Mass Effect 3: Legendary Edition (2021)

[magnimoon]

Now let's get into some more interesting questions regarding our Shepards.

[vividdreamer624]

In this house we ship Adrien Victus/Hannah Shepard. Art done by the wonderful @tightassets

[my-hot-awkward-turian-boyfriend]

welp guess i'll be writing another shakarian/victus smutty threesome fic but this one will have a bit of a twist 😌🔥💦

[teamdilf]

Different Sets of Stars - a Collaboration with punchsomeoneforme

This year I participated in the Mass Effect Big Bang, and collaborated with @punchsomeoneforme-willyou, who created such beautiful artwork of Lora Shepard-Vakarian and Adrien Victus.

I can't stop looking at it - especially the dress. Zoom in and look at the remarkable detail of her dress! Thank you for creating such wonderful work, and it was a pleasure to work with you, @punchsomeoneforme-willyou!

Different Sets of Stars is the story of Adrien and Lora's friendship, and features flashbacks from both of their lives to provide some context into how they became the people that they did, and why their friendship means so much to the two of them. It's a found family story, and I hope you all enjoy it.

[sockodot]

Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: Mass Effect Trilogy Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings Relationships: Adrien Victus/Commander Shepard, Pre-Adrien Victus/Commander Shepard Characters: Adrien Victus, Commander Shepard, Garrus Vakarian Additional Tags: Canon-Typical Violence, First Meetings, They/them Shepard, Victus POV, i take liberties with some canon dialogue, get this earth centric shit outta here, Not Beta Read Series: Part 1 of Victus/Shepard

[gefionne]

Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: Mass Effect Trilogy Rating: Mature Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Female Shepard/Adrien Victus Characters: Female Shepard (Mass Effect), Adrien Victus Additional Tags: Romance, Epistolary Series: Part 2 of Those Who Want to Hear Tomorrow Summary:

The war with the Reapers brought Adrien Victus into Commander Shepard’s orbit for a short, if passionate, time. Though he left the Normandy to lead the turian war effort, he’s kept in contact with her. Across vast reaches of space, as they fight for all life in the galaxy, their devotion grows.

------

The long-delayed second part in my Victus/FemShep series. Epistolary interlude of our lovers through the rest of the war. <3

[masseffect-rarepairs]

Rarepairs I found recently that I genuinely never considered before:

Ashley x Nihlus

Samara x Aethtya

Hannah Shepard x Victus

Thane x Cortez

Liara x EDI

[tigereyes45]

Today is the last day to sign up as an artist! There are still 10 stories available for artists to choose from.

The remaining stories include:

The mature story highlighting Female Shepard & Adrien Victus growing from strangers to friends to family.

A T-rated story featuring Suvi Anwar/Original Female Character that takes place in a world where Suvi never went to Andromeda.

Another T-rated story that circles around Sara Ryder/Tiran Kandros falling in love in Andromeda.

The explicit story about Miranda Lawson/Urdnot Grunt as they bond.

Plus a mature story that revolves around Female Shepard/Kaidan Alenko as Kaidan tries to figure out why he's dreaming of a woman he's never met.

A G-rated story about the councilors Sparatus, Valern, and Tevos as the three of them naviagte political intrigue when it comes to a human spectre. (No ships in this fic.)

There’s a mature story M!Shepard/Iron Bull/Dorian as John Shepard finds himself in thedas!

Here’s a T-rated story that centers around Female Shepard/Kaidan Alenko as a post-destroy, wheelchair bound Shepard moves in with Kaidan and his mom.

A story revolving around James.

Plus the final story that is an Explicit piece of fiction telling the story of Kaidan having found out about Thane and Shepard’s relationship.

Once again today is the last day for artists to sign up so please reblog this post and give this event some more attention.

MEBB 23 Artist sign up

To sign up as an artist, please read the snippets through, I used dividers so it’s easy to see what number belongs to what snippet, but as a rule, the number is above the text. then chose two you’d like to do art for, and as always the reason I ask you to chose two, is because I can’t promise you the one you want, so I need a little wiggle room in form of a second choice. if there really only is…

[kaidanalenkosprmanager]

THE BEST OF PRIORITY: PALAVEN

Featuring: Cmdr. Sophie Shepard, Lt. James Vega, Dr. Liara T'Soni, Garrus Vakarian, and EDI With: Flight Lt. Jeff "Joker" Moreau, General Corinthus, Primarch Adrien Victus, and Councilor Tevos War is your resume- and at a time like this we need leaders who have been through that hell. And honestly? Uniting these races may take as much strength as facing the Reapers. Mass Effect 3: Legendary Edition (2021)

+BONUS:

[edenprime]

The main galactic power players, post-war:

First of all, the krogan. At the very least, the krogan must get a seat in the council. If a named/old character has to be the one to hold it, it should be Bakara. Wrex should rule a unified Tuchanka. Their help was instrumental in holding Palaven, and as a consequence, humanity and the turians. I can see all three peoples become closer allies. Tension would remain, especially between the turians and the krogan, rightfully so. However, I can see the Hierarchy, under Victus, finally start to pay reparations for the genophage.

An initial offer is made to get turian workers to Tuchanka, to help physically rebuild the planet's main cities. This is completely vetoed by the krogan leadership, obviously. These guys were doing secret operations like a year ago to disable a gigantic bomb they had buried in their planet to destroy them. They agree on raw materials + monetary compensation until krogan population reaches pre-genophage and post-industrialization, but pre-expansion numbers. A surviving Shepard that keeps working as a Spectre would totally mediate the negotiations as an impartial observer. It is also yet another show of cooperation between all three peoples.

Now, the asari... would they get any sort of penalty for hiding the Athame beacon? Would it all get swept under the rug due to corruption? Would it be purposefuly "forgiven" due to the galaxy-wide destruction? Let's be real - if they had revealed the secret as soon as the Alliance and its allies started building the Crucible, they would've defeated the reapers much sooner. Hell, maybe Thessia would've been spared - it's attacked after the Crucible plans are found on Mars, with enough time to spare to give Alliance officials (including one very annoyed human spectre) the information.

Even if they didn't know that the beacon held information on how to destroy the reapers, it was known that a weapon of prothean origin was being built, and they had information that came straight from the protheans. If the matriarchs had any common sense, they'd start offering asari help to rebuild say...the Citadel. The keepers were basically reaper tech, right? So it stands to reason that they would've died with them, too. Now, if the others had any common sense they would refuse the generous offer and get their hands on it first (when both humans and turians call dibs, Done-With-Your-Shit Shepard says it should be the asari, under strict council supervision).

Salarians! They did not withhold crucial information, but they actively tried to sabotage the biggest war alliance by trying to ruin the cure for the genophage, and withholding support when they didn't get their way. To save face, the STG could try to make it seem like it was the Dalatrass acting alone, have her replaced, and profusely apologize. They are not formally penalized, but their political influence is definitely diminished. Again, the krogan are now among the most influential species, and the humans and the turians didn't get any help from the salarians, either. The asari chose to stay impartial in that mess, and look how it turned out for them. As such, they'll both need to keep a low profile until things have significantly cooled down.

The quarians would have no interest in joining, I believe. They'll be high on the thrill of getting their planet back. They'll need to completely reorganize their entire society, so galaxy-wide politics would take a backseat for a while. They are used to self-sufficiency and ostatrization for everyone else, so I can't see them being too keen on them, too.

Unfortunately, I don't think the "secondary" species/worlds would get much more influence or power. Some of them, like the volus and the elcor contributed a non-insignificant ammout to the war effort. However, allowing the volus into the council would be a conflict of interest: they are a client race to the turians, so unless they became completely independent for a long while, they wouldn't get that seat. Since elcor made a similar contribution, it would be unfair if they got it and the volus didn't, so no more seats for anyone. The drell don't even have their own planet, and the overall contribution from them and the hanar was not significant enough to change much of their status. Of course, all of these are excuses. The big power players are just not keen on sharing, just like before. After all, politicians will be politicians, and a sense of unity only goes so far.

[n7viper]

well I suppose I don't have to vague about it since we all know I'll never actually write anything 🙃

for some reason I was thinking of SotHunt Mae and her trying to be tough little miss bitch. Crow quietly and genuinely thanking her for mentoring him, and she bristles. "I'm not here to mentor you. I'm here to fight Wrathborn."

and then it's just 4 or 5 flashback panels of all of the times in the past week that she's nagged him about his Light usage or told him what he's doing wrong as if she actually uses Solar Light. bonus panel of Lyra staring into the camera like she's on The Office

Sometimes I have the most vivid ideas for mini comics but no money to commission them and it’s a very cruel existence

[continuous-spec]

Since Ao3 down, here is the full chapter 4 of the Messages In Between. :)

November 7th, 2186, Day 38 of the Reaper War.

A bomb. 

A fucking bomb on Tuchanka—with Cerberus hours from crawling all over it. 

The weight of both ripped down Shepard’s spine. The metal console creaked under her grip as Victus broke the news. 

His words echoed around her. His men, his son, actually. His own son, of all people, was somehow entrusted to run a secret mission on Tuchanka to disarm a planet-destroying bomb. 

The pain ripped further down Shepard’s arm. Saliva pooled in her mouth, ready to vomit at any notice. The room pulsated in a hazy gaze of black spots whirling in her peripheral. 

She was having a heart attack. 

She clenched her hands to the bottom of her uniform to keep herself upright. She gave Victus one last nod in acknowledgment before attempting to escape the war room. 

Flop sweat pooled around the thick collar of her Alliance blues. She needed to strip out of it fast. 

Shepard kept a firm stance while the bulkhead engaged for her exit. More weight collapsed on her spine as Wrex glared on. If he knew about the bomb—about Cerberus, he would flip. Start huffing and head-butting at any turian in sight.

She could not have that on her ship. 

As she crossed through security, the guards' words passed meaninglessly through her ears. Traynor's taming voice only rang out loud as she exited.

“Commander, there’s a new message at your private terminal.”

A new message 

A new message 

A new message 

Always a new fucking message. 

Shepard rushed past Traynor, trying to ignore her words. A wheezing breath jumped from her mouth. A heavy, panicking cry escaped her lips as the elevator doors hissed behind her.

Pressure built behind her eyes, and the pain throbbed further into her skull. Signs she often ignored when she needed to sleep. But there was still too much to do.  She’d sleep when she’s dead. 

Her heart pulsed fast into her throat, and the Alliance collar, covered in sweat, grew tighter. Shepard clawed at the brass buttons and threw her jacket into the corner, leaving her with a soaked black N7 undershirt. 

Stale air hit her back, cooling it as she panickedly paced through the tight corridor. She smacked the emergency lock and slid back into the freezing metal interior of the elevator. The crew could climb through the vents if they needed to, but right now, she just needed to sit and plan within these narrow walls. 

She brought up her omni-tool, mind racing as she tried to pull up Garrus’ contact info. 

His last messages left unanswered piled up in her inbox. 

[Vakarian]: So we're telling Wrex about this bomb? 

[Vakarian]: Nevermind, I’d like to avoid getting head-butted. 

[Vakarian]: You really have to admire the Hierarchy's resolve, though. If guns, asteroids, or a plague don’t kill you, the bomb sure will. 

[Vakarian]: Again, do NOT show Wrex this. I like my plates on my skull. 

Shepard didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. She wanted to respond with something nice and witty, but the building dread that continued to rip down her spine knocked the banter out of her. 

[Shepard - draft date- November, 7th 2156]: I can’t fucking do this

Her fingers shook over the omni-tool, leaving the message unsent. In frustration, she slammed the back of her head into the elevator. Warmth eased down her skull at the impact, distracting her from her shallow breathing. 

They were so fucked. 

“Shepard, is something wrong with the elevator?” 

EDI’s ethereal voice echoed around her, jumping from one ear to another. She attempted to shoo away the voice, crouching into a ball, her back pressing further into the wall.

“EDI, I just need some time. Please, just have the elevator locked out for now.” 

“I understand, Commander. I am logging you out.” 

“Thanks,” Shepard said to the now empty room filled only with the sounds of her ragged, hitched breath. 

She concentrated on her respiration rate, trying to reduce it to a nonexistent number. Cool metal seeped around her fingers as her grip on the bar above her tightened. She pushed her head into the wall again, this time lightly, with her eyes shut tight. Her arms strained in the bent and awkward position. 

“Okay,” Shepard breathed aloud to herself, steadying her mind. 

Three hours until they needed to touch down on the bomb's location. Victus' troop waited below in the cargo bay. They would need at least two hours of logistics planning and gearing up away from Wrex’s men. That left her forty minutes to panic and maybe twenty to rest. 

An urgent sharp ping brought Shepard’s eyes fluttering open and out of her scheduled panic attack. Garrus’ name in bright red text yelled at her.

Shit, she forgot to reply to his jokes. It's not like they had the time for it.

[Vakarian]: Don’t get jealous, but I think Mordin is marrying me off to Eve. 

[Vakarian]: He came into the main battery, muttering something about scars, looked me over and just said…

[Vakarian]: Acceptable 

[Vakarian]: Then sent me a brochure on interspecies krogan mating rituals

Shepard let out a ringing laugh that reverberated within the tight walls.  A single tear edged out from her lashes. 

His jesting was not part of the growing plan that she had in mind, but Shepard still waited while he sent more texts.

[Vakarian]: That last part I made up

[Vakarian]: Mostly

The shake in her hand stopped, allowing her to reply back. 

[Shepard]: I needed that, thanks.

[Vakarian]: The brewing jealousy?

[Shepard]: The laugh

[Vakarian]: At me or with me?

[Shepard]: You know it’s more fun at you. 

[Vakarian]: How is she holding up?

[Vakarian]: Eve I mean

[Shepard]: Trying to get info on your new bride?

[Vakarian]: You see right through me.

[Shepard]: She’s trying to stay strong, from what I can tell. I think the stress of being her people's last hope is a lot on her.

[Vakarian]: We talking about Eve or you? 

[Shepard]: I’m handling this well, I’m fine.

[Shepard]: I’ve locked myself in the Normandy’s elevator in a fetal position.

[Shepard]: Whatcha up to?

[Vakarian]: Getting ready to crawl through the Normandy’s vents to get to my girlfriend.

[Shepard]: Girlfriend? 

Shepard let the question hang without following up. Her stomach flipped at the single word. A stream of joy and vibration coursed through her body. The muscles of her shoulder blades released and eased into position. The ripping pain finally stopped. She rested her head back with a light and airy sigh, and her heart relaxed to a steady beat. She felt like a teenager at the word "girlfriend." 

Her small smile spread out into a grin as notifications of Garrus typing and then stopping flashed on her screen. She laughed to herself, imagining as he panicked and erased each message. 

She brought her fingers up on the omni-tool to give him a break before he had an aneurysm. 

[Shepard]: So, who are we talking about now? Me or Eve? I would prefer the girlfriend title.

[Vakarian]: One moment, got to get this armor off for the vent. Boyfriend duties, you know? 

[Shepard]: Well, how about I unlock the elevator and help you get out of the armor instead? 

[Vakarian]: I’d like that, you know I always have trouble getting the clasps on my carapace. 

[Shepard]: Dork 

[Vakarian]: You like it 

Shepard slicked up the elevator wall and disengaged the emergency stop. The elevator chugged down to the crew level, where Garrus waited. 

The thick metal doors slide open to Garrus, still in armor, with brow plates pinched in concern.  Garrus dashed in, trying to block the view from any wandering crew, and punched in the passkey for her cabin—a number he must have memorized by now. 

The door shut tight, and Garrus dashed to Shepard’s side. His gloved hands moved to her waist, pulling her in. He wrapped himself further around her, placing one hand on her lower back where the sweat pooled. His free hand traveled up her form and cupped her cheek with a feathered touch. 

Shepard leaned in his grasp, letting all the weight off her feet as she fell into him. He held her there in silence, pulling her deeper into his grasp. Hot breath fell past her neck with his mouth plates at the top of her head. She just wanted to stay in that moment and not account for the literal seconds needed for this mission to go as planned. 

The elevator rocked them from side to side as it ascended the Normandy.

“So what’s happening? Are you okay, Shepard?” His hand slid back down her waist, letting her settle on the steel floor. Her feet buckled at the weight, but his hold steadied her. 

Shepard eased herself back, creating a small width of distance. She tried to steady her voice so she could joke along and make it seem like everything was fine. 

“I could be worrying about, you know, my brewing jealousy over my boyfriend being married off for a krogan alliance. So tragic.” 

Garrus flicked out his good mandible in response with a half smile. 

“I might just have to take Chakwas' offer to fix my scars. Maybe that’ll call off the wedding?��

While slow and had the usual drawl of humor, his words somehow broke with uncertainty. His steel blue eyes darted around her like they were looking for answers outside their conversation. His eyes focused on the corner where her uniform lay crumbled, and his brow plates somehow pinched even further. 

He was panicking too.

Her heart leaped into speed once again as his panicked actions reminded her she wasn’t just some love-struck teenager with a new boyfriend—She had a bomb to disarm. 

The elevator chimed, pulling her back to her cabin. Her smile sank as the mental to-do list played on in her head. 

“Probably the ocean-sized crater from the bomb would cancel the wedding once Cerberus gets their hands on it.”

“Crap.”

“You’re really underselling it, Vakarian.” 

“I could say I admire the ingeniousness of the Hierarchy again," Garrus joked. 

“That’s not helping,” Shepard’s tone rang harsh. Her hand snatched away from his. She regretted every movement and word as the air hit her from his absent grasp. But still, she rushed off the elevator and made a beeline to her desk scattered with datapads.

Shepard tried organizing the disarray, seeking information for the best approach to the location. All the while, more messages and words piled in with updates. The pain pulsated down her back again, and the sweat grew. 

Steel on steel clanging entered her cabin after a few moments. Garrus attempted to enter with a light step. 

Shepard turned to him slowly to avoid his gaze at her outburst. She couldn’t stand to see him hurt or stressed anymore just because she couldn't handle the roles of leadership. 

But no darting eyes or pinched brows waited for her. Instead, his relaxed form leaned on the aquarium, backlit by the light blue hue. Blue cloth decorated in a golden brass of the Alliance jacket occupied his hands. His eyes focused on her uniform, smoothing and straightening the fabric's wrinkles. 

With Shepard’s watch, Garrus approached her, gently placing the uniform over her chair—eyes lightened without judgment, waiting for her response.

“Sorry, I just can’t handle this. I can’t fuc-“ Shepard stopped herself from sobbing and collapsed onto the front of his armor. He brought them down on the adjacent couch in a swift motion. Her trembling hands worked over the tricky clasps on his carapace. Good lord, she needed to feel him against her now. 

Garrus pawed off the rest quickly. First, the chest piece fell, then his back piece clattered to the ground. They worked together, dissembling the rest. Once again, his armor lay scattered across her floor.

 Shepard rested her head into the crook of his arm. She stopped herself from pulling off the black undersuit that guarded her from his rough skin. They were wasting more time than they had already. 

“We can do this together—just another obstacle in the way. Knowing Cerberus, an incompetent obstacle, easy enough,” Garrus said, running a free hand through her hair. 

“Incompetent enough to resurrect me. What makes you think they can’t ignite a bomb up our asses?” 

“That was Lawson. She told The Illusive Man to “fuck off” last I remembered,” Garrus’ voice trilled as he imitated Miranda. “Without her, they're witless.”  

Shepard laughed, burying herself further into the narrow space between him and the couch. His tight hold helped relax her in their few spare moments. Without him, she may well still have been stuck in the elevator, trying to find a similar comfort.

“How did you know to urgent message me?”

“You weren’t responding, I had to get your attention somehow.“

“Drama queen.” 

“Thank EDI too. She may or may not have helped.”   

“Tattletale,” Shepard said up into the intercoms above them. 

“It was not my intention to offend,” EDI's voice once again floated around Shepard, cracking over the intercom. 

“Don’t listen to her. You did a great job EDI. Keep warning me when my girlfriend is having a panic attack.” 

“Noted, logging you both off.”

“So, girlfriend?” Shepard asked, pulling herself up on his carapace. Her eyes half-lidded, waiting for an answer. Again, his eyes darted around her, not focusing on her. This time, her heart raced with joy.   

“That’s the word humans use, right? I guess, um, I di-didn’t want to presu-” Garrus panicked words cut off with Shepard’s lips crushing against his mouth plates. 

After several minutes, ticking by in her free hour, Shepard finally broke the kiss to relax into his arms. 

“Although if you’re being married off, the mistress title sounds fun too.”

“Oh, so the wedding is still on?” 

“Maybe I should set this bomb off myself if I want to keep my boyfriend.” 

“Jealousy doesn’t suit you, Shepard,” Garrus said, pressing his mouth plates against her hair again. Shepard lightly sighed with a laugh into it, enjoying the pressure and hum of his voice. 

“Yeah, well, apparently stress doesn’t either. You’re just gonna have to deal with that.” 

“We’ll deal with it together,” Garrus whispered, pulling her closer. The pressure under her eyes dissipated. The pain in her face and back slipped away as she let her eyes close. Her breath fell in sync with his. The beat of his heart fluttered against her ear. Soft music played in the distance from their bed. She could finally rest. 

In that moment, Shepard was exactly where she wanted to be. 

At least for the next hour. 

[teamdilf]

The next chapter of Long Way Home is up! Lora and Castis learn that Garrus is still alive and travel to London, readying themselves for a long stay in the city.

Sometimes she’s imagined telling Garrus that she and Castis adopted two little girls together. “You’re a dad - if you want to be” sounds so wrong. Too casual. But if she starts by making it clear that the girls come first, will that scare him off? Will that sound too antagonistic?

“Maybe we should speak to a social worker here - they can guide us on the best way to deliver the news to Garrus - and to the girls themselves.”

A long pause where Lora hears nothing but the ceiling fan above them. It’s odd to her that these pods run silently; it feels as if there should be something whirring inside of them - an engine or some sort of tech, but there’s nothing. Wanting more than just the fan above them, she taps on the top of the pod in a rhythm of her own making.