#butcher of torfan

[lonesurvivorao3]

Eris Shepard in a nutshell.

[veylia]

I have decided to change the lore of Evie and Eli.

Instead of them being Earthborn and War Hero (Evie)/Sole survivor (Eli) I have decided to make them both Colonists. Eli will remain as a Sole Survivor, as he is more Paragon and sad, while Evie became Ruthless and the butcher of Torfan.

I feel like it fits better. Evie is Renegon, making Paragon choices (saving Maelon's data, release the Rachni-queen, etc), but being harsh and Renegade in dialogues. She is loyal and loving to those close to her, but it's more of a tough-love kind of caring. She's fire with her blue biotics (Vanguard) while Eli is a calm Engineer that fixes things.

It also makes it easier to imagine them as twins, that one of them died on Mindoir. When I play as Eli, Evie was the one that died, and vice versa. So perfect!!

[acciokaidanalenko]

A Different Life, Ch. 1

Chapter One: The New Normal

Summary: It starts as a regular Saturday...

CW/TW: Major Character Death

Preview of chapter below the cut. AO3 link: here.

The hot pan sizzled as Kaidan carefully poured the last spoonful of pancake mix onto it. A plate with several already made sat on the counter to his right, along with the bacon and eggs he'd already finished cooking. His attention drifted out the window in front of him for a moment, watching as the skycars zoomed by in streaks of varying colors. A view you couldn't get anywhere else on the Citadel, only on the Presidium.

Bubbles began to rise to the top of the pancake, he quickly flipped it before it could start to burn.

As Kaidan stood beside the stove, he noticed a small hand reaching out from behind him. He watched as it gripped a piece of bacon between two tiny fingers and disappeared.

"Hey! Breakfast isn't ready yet," he admonished, playfully swatting at the hand.

A triumphant giggle sounded behind him as it retreated. Kaidan turned his head and looked into the pale blue eyes staring at him from the opposite side of the island at the center of the kitchen, a gleeful smile on the small, freckled face before him.

"I'm the early bird! You didn't have any worms, so I taked your bacon 'stead!" Another giggle sounded as the child devoured their stolen prize, perched precariously on the edge of the bar stool, short legs kicking back and forth as they dangled below her.

"The Canadian in me is very proud," Kaidan said with a gentle chuckle. He turned back toward the pan and moved the pancake to the plate, turning off the eye of the stove and moving the pan aside before grabbing the plate of food and moving toward the island. "Wanna help me set the table, Morgan?"

"Oh-Kay!" she answered enthusiastically, jumping down from the bar stool and following behind Kaidan as he carried the plate of food to the table. He placed it at the center and went to grab the plates and utensils from their respective cabinets. Together, he and Morgan had the table set in just a few minutes. "Can we go get Mama now?"

"Yeah, let's go get her," Kaidan agreed, nodding his head and motioning for her to lead the way.

[corpocyborg]

[rangerdoubt]

playing mass effect has really. revealed the chokehold roy mustang has on my psyche

also CHRIST i didn’t realize how much space xenophobia is baked into renegade runs. can’t i be a vigilante in peace

[bloodiedbiotic]

If you think that the crew aboard the Normandy SR-1 (namely the Alliance marines) weren't afraid of Blair when she was assigned as XO, then you are sorely mistaken.

[rotschopf-thedrow]

wip meme: the butcher! (can't resist as a torfan shep girl <3)

Thanks for the ask!

When it became clear that TLH won't just be a one-shot, I needed more substance for Kaidan's best friend Ares Shepard. I decided on a whim that he was from Mindoir, that his biotics where not stable enough to join the Alliance which was fine by Shepard since he wanted to into R&D anyway. Didn't turn out that way. Then it came to me that torfan has a lot of potential for a Shepard with a Colonist background. What would happen if a Shepard from Mindoir came across the possibility to murder every single Batarian on that moon? "I killed them, Kaidan. Spirits help me, I killed them all." This is the one sentence that is the basis for that story. Shepard returning to the ship, kitting down in his quarters and waiting for Kaidan to pick up the vid call though it's 4 am on his end of the line. Shepard realising what he has done. Shepard, who sought retribution, realising that nothing will ever quench the pain of losing everyone dear to him on Mindoir. Shepard coming to face the fact that he and his team indeed butchered every one on Torfan. Kaidan talking Shepard through the night to keep him from putting a gun to his head.

I seriously hope I can do the topic justice when I get around to write it.

[husband-steve-cortez]

One of my early and what was once my "definitive" mass effect 3 only John Shepard was a paragon but I viewed him as being very fake and manipulative about it and just about every relationship he had with his crew mates was kind of feigned except for with Steve which he originally pursued just to make sure his shuttle pilot wasn't going to burn out on him but ended up being a special thing just for him. The only real thing.

[alibonbonn]

jane shepard, butcher of torfan

[kezzcosmos]

Commander Sabine Shepard, the Butcher of Torfan

My custom Shepard from my first full playthrough of Mass Effect!

She has the colonist backstory, which ended up pairing up in a really interesting way with the events on Torfan and really made her fun to role-playing as while I was playing the series.

My only regret is that playing with such a high renegade score meant that I couldn't romance Samara 😭

But that's OK, she found love in the arms of a certain Turian instead 🥰

[lonesurvivorao3]

Shenko Snippets - Alchera

They’re a hundred feet away from the next escape pod when an explosion rips through the bridge below, shattering it into pieces and violently shaking them.

It’s not about winning.

Kaidan is ahead of her, but he knows she’s stopped running, so he does, too, and turns. Impossibly large chunks of the hull float through the vacuum of space, isolating Joker from any rescue effort. If he’s still alive, and there’s no way to know that.

It’s about being decent.

What’s left of the SR1 strains and keens beneath their feet. Without hesitating, she orders him to go, get himself and the others to safety. Of course she’s going to try and save him.

More importantly, its kind.

An acrid taste fills his mouth, but he nods, mirroring the swift and decisive actions of his wife. It’s the least he can do.

It’s the only thing I can allow myself to be.

After sealing the door, he programmes the navigation system, removes his helmet, staring fixedly through the small round window along with the other six crew members.

Maybe there’s no point to it.

He knows where the closest escape pods are, thinking she’d made all the right moves during the last few months, becoming someone who would no longer be a terrible disappointment to her grandmother, just a few more good moves in the next few minutes.

But this is who I am now.

He sees the strange ship swing back around.

I will stand here, fighting to be kind until I fall.

He sees the beam aiming at the skeleton of the SR1 a second time, in the vicinity of his wife and their pilot.

Until it kills me.

The acrid taste spills from his mouth and onto the grilled floor.

[coriphallus]

Commander E. Shepard; Butcher of Torfan, Hero of the Citadel, Biotic God and all that

[polarlys]

Marius Shepard: maybe not the most baby faced Shep of all time, but he’s probably up there as a worthy contender!

I wanted to paint him again to better find his face, and I feel really happy with it this time around. I don’t know that I feel entirely finished with it, but I don’t want to work on it any more, so off to the internet it goes! Please enjoy my sweet little Butcher of Torfan!

[favoriteblogonthecitadel]

Six Song Soundtrack Game

Tagged by the beloved @isayashai !! I loved reading through the songs you picked <3 And I had my eye on this tag game, so tysm for tagging me!!

Rules: If tagged, make a new post with links to music and/or lyrics describing the following: 1. An event that defines your character's past 2. How your character sees themselves 3. How others view them 4. Their closest relationship (platonic or romantic) 5. A major fight scene 6. End credits song

Doing this one for Xiomara Shepard with her ME1 self in mind specifically. Song titles/lyrics below, and since I like how they sound together, here are all of them in a playlist :)

Atlas: Eight by Sleeping At Last

I remember the minute It was like a switch was flipped I was just a kid who grew Up strong enough To pick this armor up And suddenly it fit […] But I can't let you see All that I have to lose All I've lost in the fight to protect it I can't let you in

If you’re wondering, yes, I’m very normal about Earthborn Ruthless Shepard. Particularly normal about Xiomara getting recruited from a chaotic environment and tossed into the super rigid expectations of Alliance training — struggling with culture shock within that structure, until the moment she gets to put on armor for the first time. It just... feels right to be ready to fight things, any things she gets thrown at, and becoming a soldier gives her everything she needs to pursue that instinct. From then on she thrives on the skills and attitudes she learned as a child, because apparently gang and Alliance cultures have some commonalities (they both reward desensitization to violence and loss of the self to the best interests of the organization).

2. Sometimes by Gerry Cinnamon

Sometimes, just sometimes Well alright, maybe all of the time I'm on a false ego trip Well I'm a renegade of sorts I roam the concrete jungle Hunting idiots for sport And now the cocaine scene It picked me up and made me frown That's when joking says that music helps the medicine go down Hey, it makes you feel alive More like demons of the night Flinging powder up your nose It's the way the water flows Yeah that's the way the story goes

For a character who relies so much on confidence and aggression, her inner dialogue is a lot more grounded; resigned, even. She has a job, it’s dirty work, and she does it well while finding acceptable ways to cope with it (also questionable ones, but what's life without some risk?). She doesn't feel any particular inclination to change her lot in life, until she finds the Beacon and faces a Bigger Picture she wasn't ready for.

3. MONEY by The Warning

Moral code updates three times a year Truth that's dipped in gold is just as sincere I'll never ask for forgiveness I come with God as my witness I pray he'll wash my hands It's sad and true, and the world hurts Sold your soul that's how it works We're human after all Are you worth your weight in gold? Going once, going twice, sold It's all about that cold, hard cash, hon Ow!

This is how I’d anticipate a lot of people view the Butcher of Torfan turned Council Spectre (and the mere concept of a human becoming a Spectre, tbh).

4. L.A. Kid by Act As If (for Xo and Kaidan)

You were an L.A. kid You were fighting hard You didn't need no one To set you apart You took me by surprise And stars fell from the skies You say you lost your heart And the lights went on 'Cause when you saw me, it was gone It was gone, it was gone And now that I I've got you here My days are long But you know when I'm coming home Coming home, coming home

They’re in love, your honor. <3 Neither of them was expecting it or looking for it, but once they collide, they're home.

5. The Pretender by Foo Fighters (for the final battle with Saren)

I'm the voice inside your head you refuse to hear I'm the face that you have to face, mirroring your stare I'm what's left, I'm what's right, I'm the enemy I'm the hand that'll take you down, bring you to your knees So, who are you? Yeah, who are you? Yeah, who are you? Yeah, who are you? Keep you in the dark You know they all pretend What if I say I'm not like the others? What if I say I'm not just another one of your plays? You're the pretender What if I say I will never surrender?

Heyyyyy so what if we were narrative parallels in our relationship with the threat of obliteration? What if we were both ruthless and flawed but one of us felt like a Chosen One forced to minimize the damage of the apocalypse, and the other could give zero fucks about compromising with false gods? What if our final confrontation after months of mutual hunt happened in the room that ordained both of us into the same Vigilante job, and it was not just a physical fight, but a conversation about which of us is a hero and which is a puppet? What then?

6. Raise Hell by Dorothy

Gotta raise a little hell Young blood, run like a river Young blood, never get chained Young blood, heaven need a sinner You can't raise hell with a saint Young blood, came to start a riot Don't care what your old man say Young blood, heaven hate a sinner But we gonna raise hell anyway

It's just Xiomara vibes honestly, and it goes well with the mutiny thing near the end of the game!