#fshiara

[kyliafanfiction]

It's funny. Almost every time I just see 'Shepard' in the context of an ME fanfic, especially Shepard/Liara, and there's no clarification of gender, my brain just assumes female Shepard. Just like - I forget mShep exists entirely. :rofl:

[femslashcontest]

[mtreebeardiles]

"Permission to lean in?" "Permission granted." (Omg so many good ones in this prompt list)

Sorry this took so long! Another Shepard wanted to claim this one haha. Hope you enjoy!

Also over on AO3!

Liara's fingers smoothed over the front of the Alliance blues uniform hanging on the back of the door, a smile curving the corners of her lips at the medals pinned against the surprisingly soft fabric. A weight to be borne, an echo of weights already carried, less a burden now beyond the memories they represented. Nightmares, some of them, many of them if she was being honest, too many close calls to count, but they'd pushed their way through.

She had pushed her way through. 

Just like she'd pushed her way through hostile Geth back on Therum, like she'd found a way to push through the barriers keeping Liara hostage. A face Liara wouldn't see until they were safe on the stranger's ship, a face she didn't know would become the one she awoke to more mornings than she didn't. 

The sounds of the dryer faded and she turned, taking the few steps towards the bathroom door and leaning against the jamb a moment. Watching, observing, tracing her gaze along the lines of the woman pinning her hair back into a neat knot at the base of her neck. Muscled arms, the curve of her hips, the way she planted herself even now in the relative peace of their home: firmly, a force not easily overwhelmed, skin marred with the scars to prove it. 

Hazel eyes caught hers in the mirror and Maxine Shepard smiled, the scar on the lower corner of her lip guaranteeing a crookedness that Liara found increasingly endearing each time she saw it. 

"When did you get this?"

A quiet laugh, embarrassed, the flush in the other woman's cheeks telling Liara of a sudden sheepishness.

"Remember when I said I figured out how to alter my mass and uh… launch myself?"

"…uh huh?"

A lick of the lips, flush growing redder and Liara brushed the backs of her fingers against those warming cheeks. 

"Trial and error may have meant slamming into things a bit more…forcefully than anticipated."

Liara's smile widened at the memory and she sauntered into the bathroom to slip her arms around her partner's waist. 

"What're you laughing at?"

"I'm not laughing."

"Not out loud," Max retorted, reaching back to prod Liara's cheek. She cocked an eyebrow. "Spill it, doc."

"Just thinking about this," Liara admitted, reaching up to tap the scar. Maxine groaned, but she was still smiling as she scrunched her nose at Liara's reflection. 

"I am never going to live that down, am I?"

"Absolutely not."

"Think they'd still promote me if they knew how badly I ate shit that one time?" the other woman mused, and Liara chuckled, giving her a squeeze before having her turn in her arms. Maxine leaned back against the counter, hands braced behind her, and Liara couldn't help but take another moment to admire this absolute force of nature. A little shorter than Liara, stocky, light dusting of freckles over a very straight nose and she cocked her head as if considering the question. 

"I think so," she concluded with a nod. "You have that…authority about you, you know? They'd have to promote you to admiral for that alone, I feel."

A twitch of the lips and Maxine's laughter was as throaty as her voice, a rasp that Liara wanted to hear again and again. 

"Yeah? Not for saving -- ahh, where to begin?"

"The Citadel?"

"The Destiny Ascension."

"Stopping the Collectors was pretty impressive."

"Then there was that whole Cerberus coup thing…"

"I feel like maybe we're forgetting something," Liara murmured, tapping her lips for good measure. 

"Reapers?"

"Now Shepard, we all know the Reapers aren't real."

"Ah, damn, that's right."

The two women eyed each other a moment before falling into a fit of laughter. It felt good -- being able to talk about these things so lightly when they hadn't been able to for so long. The reality of what they'd gone through wasn't diminished any, Liara thought, and she'd argue they'd more than earned the right to joke about it after all this time. Recovery had been painful, long, each agonizing step presenting its own challenges but here they were: whole, healthy. Happy. 

Goddess, didn't they deserve happiness after all this time?

"I guess you're right then," Maxine went on, still smiling. "Must be my natural ability to command that earned me this promotion."

"Charisma probably helps."

"And a certain magnetism, maybe?"

"Definitely."

A cock of an eyebrow, smile easing into a smirk. 

"Think so?"

The shift in tone was enough to send a thrill through the Asari and she wanted nothing more than to reach out, take Maxine into her arms, hold her close and kiss her senseless. 

But there was a way to play these games, and Maxine was good at underplaying how nervous she was. 

And Liara felt she was uniquely suited to helping ease that tension. 

"Without a doubt, Admiral Shepard," Liara said. She cocked her head. "Permission to lean in?"

Another twitch, a glint in Max's eyes even as she nodded. 

"Permission granted."

Liara grinned as Maxine met her halfway, capturing those lips with her own and noting that the other woman had been biting at her lower one again. A bit of roughness and Liara soothed it with her tongue before gently urging entrance, swallowing down her partner's sigh as Maxine parted for her. Hands landed on her hips, drawing her closer, and Liara's own moved to settle on Max's in turn. A startled laugh at the flash of blue as she Lifted her and set her on the counter and Max wrapped her legs around her, earning a sigh of satisfaction from the Asari. Wrapped up in muscled arms and thighs and she couldn't imagine a better place to be than right here, safe and sound in Max's embrace. 

She kissed her thoroughly, kissed her breathless, satisfied when she pulled back to see the content smile curving Max's lips. She cupped her cheeks, pressing a far more chaste kiss to those lips. 

"You're going to be amazing," she murmured. 

Max reached up, placing a hand over one of Liara's as she leaned into the touch. 

"Thanks," she whispered. Raised an eyebrow, smile widening. "But I won't say no to another good luck kiss."

Liara chuckled, shaking her head, and was all too happy to oblige.

[imperial-topaz2003]

Mass Effect confession

I'm a bit of a Talibrations shipper

I can already hear rabid Garrus Fangirls smashing away at their keyboards, but IDC. I mean, yeah the confession comes outta nowhere and I didn't really like it that much at first. But over the years, it's kinda really grown on me. Not sure why, I just really like the appeal. Besides, I never really did their romances that much anyway. I like them, but I'm more of a MShenko and FShiara guy myself. Tali and Garrus are my bros, not my hoes.

And no, I don't wanna hear about how Garrus can 'kill her with a cough'. So could Shepard, and Tali only came outta that with just a fever. And it doesn't even have to be sexual. It's perfectly okay to just have a romantic relationship. I also don't wanna hear anything about Cannon Romances. There are none. The only cannon Mass Effect pairing (when it comes to Shepard anyway) is the pairing you want in your own story. Who gives a shit what I'm doing in my playthroughs? Just do your own FFS.

[sparatus]

AO3 Meme

tagged by @commander-krios, thank you!!

Rules: Give us the links to your wonderful words with the most hits, most kudos, most comments, most bookmarks, most words, and least words.

so, uh. we gotta do things a lil special cause i have one fic that ticks literally all but the last of those boxes:

Broken Mirror

Mass Effect no-Reapers AU, Matteo Shepard takes on a manhunt for a mysterious all-human team responsible for the slaughter of an archaeological dig team on Eden Prime. Hits: 7,173 Kudos: 119 Comments: 215 Bookmarks: 40 Words: 333,891

... so apparently if you haven't read BM yet, ig the stats say you really should, lol.

Most Hits: Guilty Until Proven Innocent

Twilight spite fic. Bella goes to Hell and is judged for her crimes. Hits: 1,537

this is from 2013 and i was intentionally mimicking smeyer's writing style. don't read it. i can write so much better than that.

Most Kudos: Coffee & Cuddling

Mass Effect, FShiara. Exactly what it says on the tin. Kudos: 105

this was a gift piece for holiday harbinger back in 2016. i have no memory of writing it.

Most Comments: In the Land of Giants

Mass Effect no-Reapers AU, sequel to Broken Mirror. Shepard and Nihlus continue the hunt for Cerberus, leading them out into the Terminus systems. Comments: 39

gently grips your shirt collar and pulls you down uncomfortably close to my face. read my no-reapers au.

Most Bookmarks: To Catch a Rabbit

Mass Effect, Kryterius. Saren and Nihlus have to solve the murder of a primarch. Bookmarks: 16

read this one also. the mystery is a lot more intense than it sounds this is one of my favorite wips even if i keep meandering away

Most Words: Mercy

Mass Effect, OC-centric. Thie'Haasn rejoins the Migrant Fleet, Axilus in tow, and everything seems fine. It is not. Words: 136,380

have i mentioned recently we're rewriting this series. because we are. the series is from like 2014 we're better writers now. i missed axilus so much i am so sorry for how much additional trauma i'm about to give him

Least Words: A Special Kind of Dread

Mass Effect, Councilor Sparatus & Councilor Valern. Valern checks on Sparatus after dispatching Shepard to Menae. Words: 678

remember when all i posted was one-shots looking at the councilors and what they got up to off-camera. baby sparky. not quite ierian yet. still needed time in the character development oven

tagging @thetrashbagswasteland, @autistic-council-spectre, @threewhiskeylunch, @nightmarestudio606, @dandenbo, and anybody else who wants to idk who's all been tagged or done it already so if you have just ignore me lol

[cowthropologist]

2, 4, 18

2. What fanfic do you wish you got more response on?

Remembrance. Look at that ratio! It's an x OC fic so it's not terribly surprising but still. I worked hard on that shit, and I think it's good. Waah :(

4. Do you prefer writing multi-chapter or oneshot fanfictions?

Depends what I'm in the mood for. A quick little oneshot that I can toss off is fun and satisfying, but there's nothing like finishing a long multichap. I'm currently combining the best of both worlds and doing a series of short fics all set in the same continuity and that's a good time.

18. Recommend someone else fic! (And tag them if they have a tumblr!)

Here's an fshiara fic for you Carolyn: That Which Was Lost. You may have already seen this bc it's pretty high up in the fshiara tag if you sort by kudos, but it's very good. I know it's incomplete but it ends on a really tasty cliffhanger and it's so quality. It's all about asari culture and the rebuilding efforts after the Reaper War. A+++

Bonus rec in case you've already read that one: Blind Date by a friend of mine who I will not @ bc I think they want to keep their AO3 and tungle presences separate. Just some jackanda fun that I thoroughly enjoyed.

[nonuel]

hey! do you know if I can find liara dialogues from me1 like the proyects you have made? i don´t have enough saves to test them myself :(

hi anon,

the only thing i am aware of is this post by thirteenthchime on LJ that (incompletely) covers the en route to ilos scene for all the ME1 LIs. @omegastation's mass effect resource hub has transcripts, but none of the listed ones are liara-centric and the ME1 transcript only covers the prologue, unfortunately. there is a transcript that covers the elevator banters though.

otherwise, fluffninjallama on youtube has both an mshiara and fshiara playlist of her entire romance that you can use instead. these types of playlists tend to be very paragon heavy, so if you're wanting renegade lines you're going to be out of luck.

i could theoretically knock out the bulk of a ME1 liara transcript very easily - she doesn't have a lot of dialogue and the amount of variances in her dialogue is minimal compared to the VSes as well. the most annoying bits would be the more niche things like recruiting her after benezia's death or as the last step before endgame. not sure how helpful anyone would find it since a lot of engagement with liara's character seems to be more in ME2/ME3, but i'll put it on my to-do list.

if you're just needing to refresh your memory over a specific scene, let me know and i may be able to help sooner. otherwise i'm putting this in her tag and throwing it to her fandom to see if they know of any resources i don't

[wallkettle]

“I suppose it’s back to the fight.”

“At least we threw one hell of a party. Probably the last one.”

Better quality at https://www.deviantart.com/wallkettle/art/Citadel-Party-Group-Photo-885352212

[ljandersen]

Mass Effect Fanfic Ship Stats

I compiled an average for AO3 stats based on ME ship. I stratified the list for a ship from greatest to least for each variable (kudos, hits, BM, etc). I'm using median vs mean due to ease in collection and to correct for outliers. I filtered out confounding ships to better isolate the ship being studied.

________________________________

Major ships I studied:  

Shakarian (4147), FShenko (2247), MShenko (2095), FShiara (1299)

Minor ships I studied:  

FShrios (740), FShega (287), FShoker (274), Shaynor (160)

_________________________________

RESULT AVERAGES:

Kudos:

Shakarian (55), MShenko (51), FShiara (50), FShoker (40), Shaynor (40), FShrios (39), FShega (30), FShenko (22)

Hits:

FShiara (1180), Shakarian (1000), MShenko (930), Shaynor (970), FShoker (830), FShrios (670), FShega (550), FShenko (420)

Bookmarks:

Shakarian (5), Shaynor (4), MShenko (3), FShiara (3), FShoker (3), FShrios (3), FShega (2), FShenko (1) 

Comments:

Shakarian (6), MShenko (5), FShega (5), FShiara (4), Shaynor (4), FShoker (3), FShrios (4), FShenko (2)

_________________________________

SAMPLE CHARACTERISTICS

I compared characteristics to identify confounding factors. Samples are comparable and indicate the primary causative variable is the ship.

Word Count:

FShiara (3000), Shaynor (2500), Shakarian (2400), MShenko (2300), FShoker (2100), FShrios (2000), Shega (2000), FShenko (1800)

Date Posted:

MShenko (Jan 2016), FShenko (May 2016), FShrios (June 2016), Shakarian (Dec 2016), FShiara (Jan 2017), FShoker (Jan 2017), FShega (Jan 2017), Shaynor (April 2017)

_______________________________

EPIC-LENGTH FIC STATS

Out of curiosity, since I love to read and write epics, I compared the major ships for >80,000 words.  Data is less dependable since sample size is less.

Kudos: 

MShenko (220), Shakarian (126), FShiara (117), FShenko (75)

Word Count:

FShiara (140,000), MShenko (138,000), FShenko (136,000), Shakarian (131,000)

Sample Size:

Shakarian (149 total, 44% completed), FShiara (79 total, 43% completed), FShenko (73 total, 51% completed), MShenko (40 total, 73% completed)

________________________________

Commentary:  

Popularity Stats: The major ships, except for FShenko, consistently have the highest stats.  Despite the larger sample size, Shakarian performs the same as MShenko and FShiara.  The minor ships I studied were about equal.  FShenko consistently had less than half the stats of the other major ships and brings up the rear, even behind the minor ships studied.

Epic-Length Stats: MShenko has nearly twice as many kudos on average as Shakarian and FShiara and three times as many as FShenko.  This is likely due to the smaller number of epic-length fics available and the higher completion rate. FShiara and Shakarian are about equal. Again, FShenko takes up the tail.

Kudos/Hits Ratio:  To correct for the wide range in popularity (hits), I calculated the median kudos / median hits. 

FShrios (5.7%), Shakarian (5.6%), MShenko (5.5%), FShenko (5.2%), FShega (5.1%), FShoker (4.8%), FShiara (4.2%), Shaynor (4.0%)

With these results, it appears minor ships and FShenko fall amid the major ships. The difference in average number of kudos seems more a factor of ship popularity (hits) than a difference in reader responsiveness.  

Conclusions:

Most major ships have higher stats than minor ships (unsurprisingly)

Shakarian, MShenko, and FShiara are the most popular and fall about even

FShenko is the least popular. It falls well below other major ships and is even outperformed by the minor ships I studied

Correcting for popularity (hits), the ships get about equal engagement.  FShenko and the minor ships fall even with the Shakarian, MShenko, and FShiara  

*** Note on ship selection:  There were more m/m ships I tried to study, but after eliminating confounding ships, they had too small of a sample size (Steve Cortez/Male Shepard, James Vega/Male Shepard, Garrus Vakarian/Male Shepard).  I didn't explore MShep/Female due to lack of interest, but generally, it appears to be on the low end of average kudos (20-30 range).

[vallaslins]

Liara's World by Kinnebrand on DeviantArt

[kyliafanfiction]

Worst trend in F/F fanfic:

Making the male canonical or 'more' canonical LI for one (or both) of the ladies into not just a bad partner, but like, a raging psychopathic rapist murderer, even if it's an AU where the Male LI and the character he's normally paired with would never be meeting in the same terms:

[jacknoughtsarchive]

𝖋𝖆𝖛𝖔𝖚𝖗𝖎𝖙𝖊 𝖒𝖆𝖘𝖘 𝖊𝖋𝖋𝖊𝖈𝖙 𝖗𝖔𝖒𝖆𝖓𝖈𝖊𝖘 𝔩𝔦𝔞𝔯𝔞 𝔱'𝔰𝔬𝔫𝔦 𝔵 𝔣𝔢𝔪𝔞𝔩𝔢!𝔰𝔥𝔢𝔭𝔞𝔯𝔡

you had to be willing to fight in order for a love story to last a life time    

[mtreebeardiles]

Some Kind of Beautiful, Ch. 1

Wanted to play around more with my Vanguard femshep, Maxine, and her relationship with Liara :)

Also on AO3!

Ch. 1 Therum

In time her memories of Therum would coalesce into snapshots of a life about to divide firmly into a Before and an After. Dusty, hot, with craggy rock unstable around the crumbling ruins of a race she'd dedicated so much of her time to studying and there would be notes, points of reference to things uncovered, learned, compared later, so much later, with the reality of a perspective she never thought she'd see. Tangible things, cataloged and recorded, a testament to who she'd been, who she wasn't anymore, to a young Asari on the cusp of change greater than anything she'd've dared imagine, once. 

It would take time, this change, something slow and gradual, picking away at her layers to find the core of potential underneath. Quiet and shy, a touch reserved, more than a little awkward, and she'd smile many years later, remembering that embarrassment, of being caught in an ancient stasis trap, suspended in the air when the unlikeliest of rescuers would stumble upon her. 

A figure in black armor, face largely hidden behind a helmet, and the first thing Liara T'Soni would see of this catalyst, this force of nature, was a pair of steady hazel eyes.

----

"How are you feeling?"

The whir of the door her first warning, but she still felt her heart in her throat as she turned to face the Commander. Shepard was out of her black armor, clad in the same sort of heavy duty pants and blue shirt as most of the other human crew she'd seen so far since coming aboard this ship. Dark brown hair just barely brushed against the woman's shoulders, parted to the side and tucked behind her ears, and Liara was struck once more by how…short, the Commander actually was. 

Not the shortest human adult she'd ever seen, and she knew the woman likely hit around average height for her species, but after seeing her in action back on Therum, aglow with biotics and wielding a shotgun against the Krogan mercenary and his Geth cronies, it came as a bit of a shock to see her dressed down. She'd seemed larger than life, on the field. Here on her ship, leaning a hip against the doorframe with a mug in one hand, she was… more notably human. Striking, still, but in another way, tying up Liara's tongue and leaving her tripping over her words in a completely different fashion. 

She was privately grateful that Asari did not have the same misfortune as some humans who wore their flushes so openly on their cheeks. 

"I am well, Commander," she began, belatedly realizing she'd been keeping the other woman waiting. She must think I'm completely dense. Socializing had never been Liara's strong suit, something that took more consideration than most would need, and her lack of experience with humans made her all the more cognizant of her shortcomings in this arena. Data she could understand; text and numbers and collating information, losing herself in the cadences of history, weaving together theories of maybe's and what if's. So much easier to make educated guesses about the past, about people long gone save for the echoes left behind, than to try and grasp the nuances of small talk, of social niceties that reminded her too much of her childhood and the politics that had inundated so many of those earliest years. Double-speak and clever words, mysteries Liara had little patience for despite her own private fascination, but it had been hard, then, to not feel like another piece on the board. 

The distant past had its own pieces, and did not demand she play the same games safe on the other side of history.

"Dr. Chakwas able to help you out?" 

The Commander was still in the doorway, and ordinarily such a position would have added to Liara's nervousness. But there was nothing in the other woman's body language to suggest she was there to make demands, to bully answers out of the Asari as Liara had half expected after learning of her mother's involvement with a rogue Spectre. Her tone, her casual lean, the easy motions as she took a sip from her mug -- Liara rather thought she really did care, in her own way, about how her new guest was feeling. 

"Yes," she replied. Felt herself smiling a little. "I was impressed with how much she understands Asari biology."

Shepard smiled back, and Liara felt her cheeks grow warmer. 

"She's the best," the Commander said, an obvious note of pride in her voice. "Gotta be, to keep the rest of us knuckleheads in one piece." She flashed Liara a wink, and Liara swallowed hard. 

"You do make rather explosive decisions," she ventured. The tease felt unfamiliar on her lips, her boldness a wavering thing, but Shepard's grin only widened. 

"I prefer 'creative problem solving,' but sometimes it ends up making a bigger boom than intended. But! We did get out of there."

Liara found herself chuckling. There was just something so… charming, about the manner in which Shepard spoke. Understated, in a way, setting Liara more and more at ease. An unusual circumstance in and of itself, seeing as she'd spent the past few hours feeling very much out of place and on edge with worry, lost amid unfamiliar faces whose motives and obligations she could not begin to piece together. A strange juxtaposition, she thought, to be in this moment and feel almost normal when factors beyond it were decidedly not. 

At least, Liara suspected this must be the case: there were few enough other explanations for how she came to be here, feeling like a fumbling apprentice, attention so easily distracted to the powerhouse of a human before her. And Shepard was a powerhouse -- Liara wasn't sure which of them had been more surprised when she'd hauled off and punched that Krogan mercenary, Liara herself or the merc -- but standing there as she was now one might never have guessed it. 

"I did want to thank you again for that, Commander," Liara said. "Regardless of the resulting boom."

Shepard laughed, one hand moving up to rub at the back of her neck. The smile she flashed at Liara now was a touch more sheepish, and Liara's thoughts momentarily wandered to what other sorts of smiles this woman was capable of and if she'd get to see more of them. Future uncertain in a more immediate sense than Liara typically liked, but so far Shepard seemed unlikely to kick her off the ship any time soon. 

"I am sorry about that," Shepard was saying, drawing Liara's attention back. "If there had been time to find a way to not, you know, destroy a Prothean dig site…"

"It was unfortunate, but hardly your fault, Commander," Liara reassured. "You didn't order the Geth there to try and obtain me."

"I mean I'm good blaming Saren for it," Shepard agreed with a shrug, leaning back against the doorway. She cocked her head. "And about that -- let me know when you feel up to discussing the…situation. I hate to put pressure on you, but we're in the dark here."

"I understand." Liara sighed, fighting the urge to fidget. "But I did mean what I said before -- I've no idea what Benezia would be doing with Saren, or why, or what it has to do with Reapers. You…mentioned a beacon? A vision, imparted to you from a Prothean device?"

Shepard nodded slowly. "It…doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me," she admitted. There was a bleakness there, a tightening around the other woman's eyes, and Liara could only imagine what confusing, distressing images she may have had thrust unwillingly into her mind. Beacons were rare; even Liara had never encountered one in all her years studying their progenitors. 

"Liara?"

She blinked to see the Commander was eyeing her with some concern. 

"Kinda lost you in thought there," Shepard went on softly. "I should really let you rest."

"Oh -- I… Yes. But… perhaps come by later? I might have a way to help you parse through whatever information the Beacon gave you, if you're open to it."

Shepard cocked her head, raising an eyebrow. "Yeah?"

"Are you familiar with Asari mind-melding?"

"…uh."

Liara smiled a little. "Essentially it will allow me to see what you see -- what the Beacon showed you. Perhaps there is something there someone with my experience would better recognize."

Shepard blinked, but looked more curious than suspicious; Liara took this as a good sign. Mind-melding was difficult to explain to non-Asari, often wrapped up in mating rituals and thus conflated with other species' concepts of sexuality and desire. And it could play a role in these things, particularly if the goal was to have children, but it served other purposes as well. 

And Liara rather doubted delving deep into these particular visions was going to be very pleasurable for either of them. 

But she needed data -- something tangible, something she could work with. Not even a few hours on this ship and she was feeling restless, extraneous, caught up in something bigger and helpless without further information. 

And Shepard looked like maybe this was one burden she wouldn't mind sharing. 

"So it'd be like…giving you free access to my thoughts, my memories?" 

"Not exactly," Liara replied. "I would of course do my best to limit it to the vision itself; I've no desire to infringe on your privacy, Commander."

Shepard nodded thoughtfully, taking another sip from her mug. "I'll think about it," she said after a moment. "That's definitely an avenue worth more consideration -- when you've rested."

Liara felt herself smiling again, the knot of worry that had tried to tangle itself even tighter in her chest loosening a touch. 

"You know where to find me," she told her. "See you later, Shepard."

Once the Commander had taken her leave Liara did briefly consider retiring to the cot Dr. Chakwas had set up for her. But sleep was an elusive thing, all the more after her nap earlier, and her fingers strayed back to the console's haptic keyboard before long. Pulled up her files once more, quickly skimming the notes she'd already made and smiling a little at herself for how sparse they were. More data in audio logs she'd made and she'd transcribe them soon enough, but her thoughts were too flooded with other things to parse through her findings on Therum. 

It was funny, she thought, closing out of those files and pulling up a fresh one. New records, new notes, pertaining to theories and speculation for this newest mystery. All those months she'd spent studying those ruins, literal weeks spent analyzing samples from material composition to potential early writings, and it was her final day on Therum that stuck out above all others. 

The creak of an elevator, the fear that the Geth were coming back with a means to abscond with her once they'd wrenched her from her accidental prison. The appearance of three humans instead, one of them planting themselves front and center. The voice, a touch of rasp in it, feminine and throaty, asking if she was alright. 

A pair of hazel eyes, briefly glinting in amusement before the armored figure released the stasis field and caught her before she could tumble to the floor. 

Strong arms, steady, letting her lean as she got her bearings, and it wasn't the smooth metal of Prothean constructs her fingers remembered. It was the brush of armor, a little warm to the touch, giving way to ballistic weave, all these layers failing to hide the strength of the form beneath. It wasn't the echo of her own voice as she recording her thoughts that came to mind but the soft hint of laughter woven into the words, "Superior firepower" after the trio appeared on the other side of the barrier. It wasn't questions of purpose the ruins may have served that she found herself pondering now, but questions of the human who had saved her, body limned in biotic blue and not afraid to get up close and personal with their assailants. 

But Liara couldn't very well make notes that would ultimately sound like a diary, so she closed down the console altogether and settled on her cot, content, for now, to reflect in the safety of her own thoughts. 

----

"What're you writing?" 

Arms around her from behind and Liara leaned back into the embrace, tilting her head up to smile at the sleep-rumbled face above her. 

"Same project as before," she replied after receiving the kiss she'd been seeking. 

"Yeah?"

"I haven't gotten very far," she admitted. "Always seem to struggle with Therum."

"When we first met?" 

"Precisely because it's when we first met." She shifted in her seat, moving back from the desk enough to let her partner resettle in her lap. Arms around Maxine now, and she rested her chin on her shoulder. "You're every bit distracting in memory as you are in person, you know."

A chuckle, sweet and warm as honey, and Liara scrunched her nose as Maxine kissed it. 

"But it's a good distraction, right?" Voice pitched low and Liara hummed, chasing after her lips for another, deeper kiss.

"The best."

[sparatus]

ughhh they've been doing the same thing to Liara, everyone is like uwu lesbian. they may dislike mShep all they want, but that doesn't erase the fact that she's attracted to men too so calling her a lesbian is also biphobia and bi erasure. Kaidan's been a victim of this too I'm pulling my hair out I'm so frustrated

YUP im in a discord server that just a couple days ago had someone come in talking about their gay kaidan hc and when called out for it dug their heels in and tried to say the mods didn't allow headcanons or aus or canon divergence at all. buddy that's not what you're doing and you fucking know it!!

and god yeah i used to hang with a shiara stan who insisted fshiara was the only ~correct~ way and mshiara is "predatory" even tho they're written the exact same and liara ONLY likes girls. my guy the asari don't even have their own cultural concept of gender, headcanons about the asari experimenting with gender after meeting aliens aside liara's pretty damn sheltered in me1 so i promise you human dimorphism isn't even a note in her checklist.

it's just!! AUGH we've been having this discussion for YEARS, very publicly, if i were on desktop i could go get my links to previous times this has happened ("saying garrus is gay erases his canon attraction to women and is biphobic" comes to mind), but non-bi (or -pan, or -poly!) people just keep refusing to get it im chewing my arm off man

[kenshi-vakarian7]

Leather & Lace ‘19 - Fic 10 of 14

Event hosted by @alyssalenko @vorchagirl and @starsandskies

---

“The Soft Heart of a Renegade”

Prompt - Unromantic Romance

Growing up, Commander Val Shepard was forced to create a tough exterior, one that would hide her emotions and deal with all the crap thrown her way.  It was how she had to survive as an orphan on the streets, even more so due to the fact that she was a blonde – a very rare gene to find in humans these days.  People in the past had tried to take advantage of her just by her hair color alone.  If not for sticking with the right people, her own instincts, and hiding her emotions, Shepard would've been eaten alive a long time ago.

Those old instincts followed Shepard through her years in the Alliance.  Liara T'Soni understood this when they first started their relationship.  In public, Shepard was a feared soldier who was willing to seek her goals at any cost.  Her actions were harsh, perhaps questionable at times, but she always got the job done.

But in private, when it was just the two of them, she was Val.  Val was a woman who absolutely adored Liara. Val was a woman who grinned with happiness whenever Liara gifted her little items for no reason, especially if those items were colored pink, her favorite.  Val was a woman who took her time and possessed a rare patience in order to teach Liara how to defend herself when she first came onto the Normandy.  Val was a woman who only let Liara see past her tough exterior and into the heart she always hid from others.  Val was a woman who held her tight whenever Liara was close to falling apart... especially after what happened to her homeworld.

In her quarters, Liara was helping to organize assistance to the asari refugees who recently lost their home on Thessia – sending her surviving agents through her networks to help, set up housing, sending out supplies... there was SO much to do with so little time.  There were also the questions that ran through her mind – would it be enough?  Would the refugees be safe?  When will the Reapers strike again?

Liara was in near exhaustion and went to lay her head down when she suddenly noticed two objects on her desk – a stemming hot cup of coffee and a single cupcake decorated in thick blue frosting and white, star-shaped sprinkles.

Taken aback by their sudden appearance, Liara turned her head to scan the room before her eyes spotted the back section of her quarters where her bed was.  There, she found Shepard lounging on the bed and reading over some datapads she likely brought with her from her own quarters.  On the nightstand were her own cup of coffee and a half-eaten cupcake, also with blue frosting but no sprinkles.

By the goddess, Liara thought as she picked up the coffee she realized Shepard left for her.  I've been so focused on my work that I didn't even notice her in here until now.

She took a sniff of the coffee and recognized the scent – mocha with a touch of vanilla.  That made Liara smile, moved that Shepard remembered that this was her favorite of all the human-invented coffee flavors.  She took a long sip, taking a moment to relish the taste before she turned her attention to her lover.

“Val,” Liara softly called out after she sipped her drink.  “How long have you been in here?”

Shepard didn't look up from her datapad, but she did acknowledged her question with a smile.  “Not long,” she replied. “Ten... fifteen minutes tops.  You looked busy, so I figured I'd stick around and look over my own work until you were done with whatever you were doing.  I’m glad Glyph understood the hand signal to stay quiet.”

Liara smiled as she felt her cheeks go warm.  “And where did the cupcake come from?”

“I'd say I made them for you, buuut...”

“You wouldn't dare lie to me would you?” Liara teased.  Of course she knew – everyone knew actually - that Shepard couldn't cook a meal that wasn’t instant to save her own life, let alone bake dessert from scratch.

“Me?  Lie to you?  Oh babe, I would never,” Shepard teased back.  “Actually, Daniels down in engineering made these.  A 'pick-me-up' for the crew before we head to the Iera system.  I managed to confiscate the last two – one for me and one for you.  I gave you the one with the star sprinkles because I thought you'd like that.”

Liara felt her heart flutter in her chest at those words.  It was little gestures like this that made her love Shepard more and more with each passing day.  This woman possessed a cold, stoic heart that Liara somehow managed to break through and see the love she had only for her.

If she managed to live for a thousand years and even if she did find another to give her heart to, Liara didn't think she would love anyone as much as she loved Val Shepard.

“You look tired,” Shepard pointed out.  “Why don't you sit with me for a little while?”

Usually, Liara didn't want to bother Shepard when she was working, but well... not only did she invite her, but, well... she also happened to be lying on Liara's own bed.

“All right,” Liara replied.  She took her coffee and cupcake in her hands and walked over to her bed.  Placing them down on the other nightstand, Liara got into her bed before scooting over to get close to Shepard.  Shepard promptly wrapped one arm around her while Liara rested her head on her shoulder.  Neither of them said a word after that, but Liara was fine with it.  Just having Shepard here, her arm around her and just being this close to her was enough.

Eventually, Liara's eyes fluttered closed and she fell into a peaceful slumber.

[avulle]

New thing!

To change things up, this wasn't isn't just normal, boring smut, it's xeno smut